Code Geass:Wildfire
by Aggammenonn
Summary: Sometimes small changes can have drastic effects. An accident with his Geass at Shinjuku leaves Lelouch reluctant to rely on it, forcing him to use his own talents to build his army. A more pragmatic and flexible Zero sits down at the board against the Emperor. He has lit the torch of freedom for the Japanese, will it become a wildfire? Reviews appreciated o7
1. Opening Gambit

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

* * *

AN

Well, over the summer my daughters started watching this and ignoring season 2 for the most part, I think the story has a great deal of potential. Hopefully I don't screw it up. o7

I've asked my rather awesome Council's Folly Beta So Said the Dragon to beta this as well but she's busy in RL so I will posted edited chapters when she gets around to it. :D

* * *

_If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared._

_Niccolo Machiavelli_

* * *

In the darkness of the warehouse, Lelouch's eye flared and shined a brilliant crimson. "Lelouch vi Britannia orders you, all of you..DIE!"

The members of Viceroy Clovis's Royal Guard drew their sidearms and snapped to attention while their commander laughed helplessly. "Yes, your Highness!" With grotesque smiles, they committed suicide, small splatters of blood shocking Lelouch out of his momentary daze.

Observing the bodies on the ground, he allowed himself a cold, cruel smirk as his eyes hardened with hate. For years he had bidden his time, planning on destroying his father's empire and now fate had deemed fit to hand him a weapon. One that would greatly increase both his timetable and his chance of success.

Interrupting his thoughts, a Brittanian Sutherland entered the warehouse deploying its factsphere as it scanned the interior. A woman's voice broadcast from the Knightmare, "What happened? Why is a Brittanian student here?" When Lelouch didn't answer, a burst of gunfire bracketed him tearing through the warehouse wall.

Turning to fully face the Knightmare, Lelouch flared the geass in his eye. "Come out of there. At once!"

To his surprise she refused his command and demanded to know who he was. Quickly deducing that he needed direct eye contact for his new power to work, he rapidly considered ways to acquire it. A plan of action suggested itself based on his knowledge of Britannia hierarchy. Few Brittanian soldiers would pass up the chance to rescue a distressed noble heir. It felt fitting that the empire's obsession with its hierarchy should play into his hands.

"My name is Alan Spencer, my father is a Duke. After you check my identity, I request your protection." Lelouch was careful to try to strike a tone that seemed both arrogant and condescending like a normal Brittanian noble but not abrasive enough to have the woman simply shoot him. He forcibly kept a victorious smirk off his face when the woman opened the cockpit and slid to the ground covering him with her sidearm.

Now that he had a line of sight he considered ordering her to die like the guards but was somewhat sickened by the thought. He was willing to bloody his hands further but the situations were not equal and he decided on mercy. Using his geass, he simply ordered the woman to obey him then relieved her of her sidearm and ignition key. Noting she was still just standing there, eyes glazed and tinged with a reddish hue, he decided to push his luck. "What is your name?"

"Viletta Nu, My Lord" she responded blankly.

A flash of insight hit him as he realized he'd never set conditions in his order for the effects to end. He hadn't intended to enslave her but since she was an enemy he wasn't feeling very troubled by it. Still, it was a valuable lesson regarding his power, unless he intended for a command to be permanent, he needed to add end conditions. Pulling out a pen and a scrap of paper he jotted down the number for the unregistered cellphone he typically used for gambling. Handing it over, he phrased his orders carefully. "Ten minutes after I leave, you will call for retrieval. You will resume your normal duties and act as you would normally until 2100 this evening. At that time you will find a private location and call this number for further orders. Is this clear to you?"

Viletta slid the scrap of paper into one of the pockets on her uniform. "I understand My Lord."

Frowning he gave the warehouse a once over feeling as if he was forgetting something. The sight of green hair on the concrete floor triggered mixed sympathy and pity within him. The strange woman had taken a bullet for him and given him this useful power, it seemed unfair to leave her sprawled on the ground. Ignoring the passive behavior of his new pet Knightmare pilot, Lelouch quickly moved over to the body of his mysterious benefactor. Gently rolling her over, he was shocked to find her alive, only the blood remaining from when she'd been shot.

He considered sending her out with Viletta but considering the ghetto massacre was Clovis attempting to reclaim her, he decided not to. He chuckled a bit coldly."Seems you're coming with me then," he told the unconscious woman. Lifting her over his shoulder, he cursed as his knees buckled a bit. Much as he loathed the idea, it seemed he would need to increase his physical capacity. Not something he was looking forward to at all.

Staggering over to his _acquired_ Sutherland, he managed to load the girl into the cockpit before sliding in himself. Taking moment to familiarize himself with the controls and cockpit layout his attention was drawn to the tactical screens. It seemed the military had things in hand but there was resistance and on a hunch he pulled out the radio he'd taken off the dead rebel and turned it back on. Moving his Knightmare out and to the higher floors of a nearby building he compared the rebel chatter to his tactical screens. He was somewhat impressed, the resistance group was fairly disciplined and using outdated weapons was doing a credible job of delaying the Brittanian forces to allow the civilians time to escape. A blip on the tactical map caught his attention and he couldn't help the victorious smirk that formed on his face. It seemed it was time to start building his army.

* * *

Kallen Kozuki was growing very frustrated in her red Glasgow. The cold-blooded murder of her fellow Japanese had her furious but no matter how many choppers and tanks she destroyed with her crippled frame she couldn't see an end in sight. Destroying another helicopter, she forced down her panic when two Sutherlands slid in behind her and immediately moved to avoid the incoming gunfire using the buildings as cover. A beeping alerted her that she only had thirty minutes of power remaining when her radio crackled to life with an unfamiliar voice. "The west entrance! Use the train tracks to move to the west entrance!"

Fearing a trap she keyed her radio to respond. "Who is this? How do you know this code?"

She wasn't reassured when the voice responded. "It doesn't matter who I am. If you want to win, you'll have to trust me."

"Win?" She'd never considered winning as an option, only reducing the civilian casualties. The word fulled her with an odd determination, was it truly possible to win? Following the instructions she moved her frame to the tracks and boosted up onto them. Seeing a train coming towards her and still being chased by the two Sutherlands she keyed her mic again. "Hey, what do I do now?"

Nearing the train, the voice came over her radio again. "Since you followed my orders, you get to win. Jump up on the train!" Again she followed the instructions as the lead Sutherland behind her hit the train and stopped it. As the trail Sutherland moved forward to continue the chase it was destroyed by a slash harken launched from a nearby building. Turning her frame around she charged at the remaining KMF only to see it crippled by gunfire from the Sutherland that destroyed the first one. Watching the pilot eject she keyed her radio again. "You saved me but how did you get a Sutherland?" To her surprise the other frame had already left.

Before she could think about it, her comrades arrived with Oghi calling out to her. "Hey Kallen, what was that radio message about?"

"What? He contacted you guys too?"

"Yeah, he instructed all of us to gather here." He looked around and seemed confused. "Even Yoshida's guys are coming."

At that moment the radio came to life again. "Are you the leader?" the voice asked.

Oghi stared at his radio for a moment then answered. "Yeah, I am."

"Then the cargo of that stopped train is my gift to you. They are the tools to our victory. If it is your desire to use them and win then I require that you follow my orders."

Kallen dropped off the train and used her Glasgow to open one of the cargo hatches only for her eyes to widen as she gasped in surprise seeing several deactivated Sutherlands. Other members of the resistance opened the other cars to find even more Sutherlands. Most couldn't believe it, this was a vast increase in their ability to wage war against the Brittanians.

Kallen snapped out of her shock when the voice addressed her. "You, the woman in the Glasgow. Transfer anything you want to keep to one of the Sutherlands along with yourself. You seem to be a talented pilot, that would be wasted in a crippled frame. All units, be ready to move in ten minutes, that's when we launch our counterattack." Grabbing her radio and several keepsakes, she exited her Knightmare and gave it a fond pat farewell moved away. She was saddened to part with it but the voice was right, it was a crippled frame.

From a nearby building, Lelouch watched Kallen move with interest. The girl seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place her. A glance at his tactical display gave him the time and he cursed as he pulled out his cellphone. Selecting Milly Ashford as the least evil of his choices, he called the rather eccentric blonde student president.

"Lulu, you never call little old me," she crooned into the phone when she answered. "So, what did you need," she continued cheerfully as Lelouch massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry Milly," he apologized. "I got caught up with some stuff on my way back to campus and I need you to tell Nunnally that I'll be home late."

Milly's typical cheerful demeanor dropped. "Is there something important happening," she asked calmly. "It's not like you to skip out on dinner with your sister."

"Yes, it's important," he replied evenly. "I'm beginning the first steps towards my goal."

A sharp hiss as Milly inhaled in surprise sounded from the phone. "You will be careful won't you? I would hate to bear bad news to Nunnally."

"As careful as I can be. I have to go but I'll see you tonight alright?"

A hollow chuckle came from the phone. "You'd better," Milly said as she hung up.

Tucking his phone away, Lelouch studied that tactical map again. Many people seemed to think that chess ability translates into battlefield results but they were in error. While chess teaches both tactics and strategy, a chessboard is limited in dimension and everyone starts with the same pieces, all with defined roles. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel that he was engaged in a massive game of chess and now he finally had pieces on the board. Outnumbered and outgunned, his opponents trained soldiers, he considered ways he could pull out a victory. It would be simple to order a retreat but he'd lose the chance to start building an army not to mention the loss of the new Sutherlands.

Noting the haphazard way Clovis had his forces scattered though Shinjuku, Lelouch began devising a path to victory. The only way he could see was to use guerrilla tactics while keeping tight control of his units. Lifting his gaze towards the horizon where he could just make out Clovis's G-1 command center. "Lets see if you've gotten any better since the last time we played brother.," he murmured under his breath.

* * *

The members of the resistance were grouped together, some of them skeptical of their new instructions. "Hey Oghi," one called out. "He had us strip the IFF systems, how do you know this isn't some sort of trap?"

Familiarizing himself with his controls, Oghi responded. "Trap? Why would the Brittanians go through some sort of elaborate trap that gives us Sutherlands? So far the voice has been very good to us, unless that changes you guys should get to your assigned positions."

"P-1," the voice came from the radio. "Any members that can't pilot a Knightmare should use this time to strip that train of everything of value. There is an opening to the underground at G-10 they can use to get clear."

"Roger," Oghi responded then stared at his radio for several seconds before keying his mic again. "Hey, who are you, can you tell us your name?"

"No," the voice responded coldly. "It's possible these transmissions are being intercepted." There was a pause before it spoke again. "For now, you may call me Zero."

Oghi stared at his radio in confusion. "Zero?" he murmured. "As in nothing?"

Unaware and uncaring of Oghi's confusion, Lelouch keyed his mic. "P-1, Q-1 is currently leading a patrol of enemy Sutherlands to your position. Shoot them through the wall!" Watching two enemies drop of his tactical map, Lelouch smirked as he bounced a black chess king in his hand. _That should prove to them that listening to my orders will be rewarding,_ he mused, eyes scanning the map for his next opportunity.

The next half an hour passed in a bit of a blur and Lelouch used his units to pick off patrols and isolated units. He was very impressed with the red-head, Q-1. While the rest of the resistance members were proving to be more disciplined then he had believed, she was truly noteworthy accomplishing any task he set for her. He could only imagine the panic in the enemy command center as their units dropped like flies. They would have to react soon and he felt he had a very good idea of what actions they would take.

It only took another 15 minutes before the enemy command responded and Lelouch almost couldn't believe his eyes as they used possibly the most stupid response he could have imagined. Sure, on paper having all of your units swarm in would seem like a good idea but in reality, not so much. "Q-1, is your map accurate?"

"Yes, for the old town it is."

"Very good, commence mission 3." Watching the enemy units fill the center plaza of Shinjuku, Lelouch felt an evil grin form. When his units hidden underground collapsed everything costing Clovis the majority of his on hand forces, Lelouch couldn't stop himself from laughing. "It worked! I can do this, I CAN defeat Brittannia!"

Directing his units in mopping up the remaining enemies, Lelouch noticed a Knightmare moving in fast from the eastern edge of his display. Sending a squad to ambush it, Lelouch was very surprised when it cut through his men with casual ease. Uneasy, especially after hearing reports that the thing had some sort of energy shield Lelouch pulled his units back to deal with the new threat. "Attention all units. It appears the Brittanians have brought some sort of prototype out to play. Withdraw to grid D-5 and ready chaos mines. Q-1, move to grid C-3 and lure this thing to our little party. Beware, it seems to be very fast so use as much cover as you can."

Lelouch found himself unconsciously holding his breath as he watched Q-1 lead the new unit on a wild chase back to the ambush. Several times he thought she'd been caught but would pull of something spectacular to escape. At the end, her unit was severely damaged and missing both arms but she succeeded in her mission. Lelouch could only imagine the horror on the enemy's face when twenty Sutherlands popped up around him and launched chaos mines.

Despite himself, Lelouch was rather impressed with the new unit when it managed to survive the massed chaos mines. The energy shielding had saved the torso of the white Knightmare from destruction but the frame was crippled, the legs almost completely blown away. Idly he wondered why the pilot didn't eject and considered ordering his units to capture the prototype before his tactical display caught his attention.

"All units, this is Zero. Enemy reinforcements are inbound from multiple directions. Withdraw to grid G-10 and clear the field before they arrive. Q-1, your unit won't make it in time, bail out and catch a ride from P-1."

"Roger," both Kallen and Oghi replied before Kallen grabbed her stuff and bailed out. Oghi outstretched and arm and Kallen jumped from her now abandoned unit into the Knightmare's hand. Hurrying up to ride on the Knightmare's shoulder, she looked up at the sky and saw a massive wave of enemy units moving towards them. Knocking on the side of the cockpit to get Oghi's attention she waved and called out. "I'm glad this Zero guy knows when it's time to retreat. Could you imagine fighting all of those?"

Oghi considered it and shook his head despite Kallen not being able to see it. "They wouldn't be there is Zero hadn't shown up but we wouldn't have beaten the Brits like we did either. I don't think even Miracle Todoh would have pulled out such a decisive win."

Waving to acknowledge she'd heard, Kallen murmured to herself. "Just wish we knew who he was. You'd think someone with those skills would have showed up before now." Picking up her radio, she decided to talk to this mysterious Zero. "Zero, Q-1. Should we hold at the rally point for you?"

She was surprised when Zero chuckled in response. "Negative Q-1, I'll be making my own way out but leave your radio on, I might have a present for you later."

"A present?"

Zero's chuckles took a darker edge. "It'll be a surprise."

Turning off the radio, Lelouch moved his Sutherland closer to Clovis's G-1 command center before parking it in a mostly destroyed building. After checking the green-haired girl and finding her still unconscious he dismounted and swiftly managed to acquire a nearby soldiers uniform. Quickly changing he began making his way towards a long overdue visit with his brother.

* * *

Waiting several minutes after Lelouch left, C.C. opened her eyes and looked around carefully. She'd revived shortly after her new contractor had begun issuing battle commands and had decided to fake being unconscious for two reasons. First, surprising and interrupting a commander in battle was never a good idea. Throughout her history, there had been times when she herself had lead units into battle and unexpected interruptions were more then merely frustrating. The second reason, far more important from her viewpoint was that it allowed her to observe her new contractor in an unguarded manner. He'd shone an absolute ruthlessness with his orders but had taken time before he left to shift her body so she would be more comfortable. Yes, this contractor was certainly interesting and she had the feeling that he would be the one to finally grant her the peace she desired.

Opening the cockpit and lowering herself to the ground she smirked a bit picturing his reaction to finding her missing. Undoubtedly he would have questions but she would answer them in her own time. She was actually tempted to remain but contact between them would be on her own terms. Turning her gold eyes in the direction she sensed him through their contract her smirk widened. _See you soon Lelouch Vi Brittania._

* * *

Getting through to the command center of the G-1 was exceedingly easy for Lelouch using his geass on the guards he encountered. Arriving at the door and ordering the final guard to leave, Lelouch drew his stolen sidearm and took a deep breath. Once he opened these doors he was irrevocably committed to his path. It would be simple to retreat but another opportunity like this would be a long time coming, if it ever did. He allowed his mind to wander briefly, the image of his sister's smiling face foremost on his thoughts and he gritted his teeth drawing fresh determination. Their _father's_ reaction to his mother's death, the word father being extremely vile in his thoughts, he could handle. Exiling him to Japan was also something he could take in stride. Nunnally being blinded and crippled, sent to die in exile with him was enraging. For his view that his beloved sister was useless, the emperor would die. Someday, Lelouch would stand over his body and only after crippling him like Nunnally, only then would he put a bullet through the man's head.

Opening the door, he stepped through completely unnoticed by the frantic men inside. Lelouch was somewhat surprised to find no guards but fought to keep a grin off his face as he listened to the disorganized panic. It seemed even with the battle over, these fools were trying to reason out why they'd lost or perhaps more accurately, who they could blame for it. Seeing no need for his geass at the moment Lelouch raided his pistol and began executing the command staff. A cold smile crossed his face as the panicked men realized he was between them and the only exit and he took his time to ensure head-shots. _Probably doing the empire a favor by killing these idiots_ he thought as he continued his work.

It took him less then two minutes before the only one left was a badly shaken Clovis. Pointing the pistol at him to emphasize his words, Lelouch spoke in a cold, commanding voice. "If you wish to live Viceroy, you will order your forces to withdraw."

Shaking and at gunpoint, Clovis stepped forward and pressed the button to link to all units. "Attention all units, Clovis La Brittania, Viceroy of Area Eleven, Third Prince commands you, ceasefire and withdraw. I repeat, ceasefire and withdraw. I shall allow no further fighting here." Turning he moved back to his throne and sat trying to look dignified to hide his fear. "There," he spat. "I've done as you ask now leave."

Lelouch chuckled as he took off his helmet and flared his geass. "No, now you will answer my questions." He felt satisfaction when he saw Clovis's face go vacant with red rings around his eyes. "Who killed my mother?"

"I don't know. Schneizel, the second prince and Cornelia, the second princess may know."

Lelouch gasped in surprise. Those were two names he hadn't thought to hear. Unlike many members of the family he'd never seen them treat his mother with anything but respect. "Were they the ringleaders?" Still under the geass, Clovis said nothing and Lelouch thought out-loud. "So you know nothing else. Why did you order your men to purge Shinjuku to retrieve that girl?"

"She is immortal, if anyone found out about my research, I would be disinherited."

Lelouch snarled in rage. _Disinherited? He ordered the murder of thousands to avoid being disinherited. He doesn't have a prayer of taking the throne anyway and he knows it._ "How could you justify it?"

"They were only Elevens."

Those words damned him in Lelouch's eyes. He tried to remember the funny artistic brother from his youth but those words kept surfacing over those memories. He felt grief as he realized that boy had grown to become a monster, something he lay at their father's feet, just another reason he needed to destroy the empire. Sliding his helmet back on, Lelouch pulled out the resistance radio and turned it back on. "Q-1, this is Zero. Are you receiving me?" Seeing his brother awakening from his geass trance, Lelouch aimed his pistol at Clovis's head.

Sitting at the rally point still on the shoulder of Oghi's Sutherland, Kallen felt her heart jump into her throat when she heard Zero's voice from her radio. The rest of the group had left to hide the KMFs and stolen supplies after Clovis had ordered the ceasefire but she'd convinced Oghi to stay in case the mysterious Zero needed help. Her hands shook with excitement as she raised the radio to her mouth."Q-1 here. Do you require assistance?"

Zero's chuckle sounded over the sounds of a man begging to for his life. "No, but I appreciate the offer Q-1. This is about your present. If I recall, I told you that if you wanted to win, you need to trust me."

Kallen responded cautiously. "Yes, but we won and the Brittanians have retreated."

"True but do you hear the man in the background?"

"Yes."

"That is Viceroy Clovis, this is my present to you, this is the win." Zero's voice stopped and was replaced by two gunshots and the background voice stopped. "I need to make my way out but I will be in touch."

Kallen stared at her radio in shock. She was somewhat worried that this 'Zero' could shoot a man begging for his life but it was the Viceroy she told herself. Oghi opened his cockpit and stared at her with a look she thought was similar to the one on her own face. "You heard that right?" She asked.

Oghi nodded, eyes still wide. "I never would have thought it was possible," he finally said.

Kallen nodded in agreement. Defeating the Brittanian military in a full-out fight, withdrawing with many stolen Sutherlands and the icing on the cake, Zero killing the VICEROY. Today had certainly been unexpected. "Such a strange day," she said quietly before moving over to join Oghi in the cockpit. "We should get out of here and meet up with the others and I'm tired of riding, how bet you let me drive?"

Oghi tried to avoid the wide blue puppy eyes aimed at him. "No."

"Pleeeease?"

Oghi sighed, he knew he was defeated and was saddened that it was so easy. "Fine, you can drive."

Kallen flashed him a bright grin as she traded places with him. "Thanks, your such a sweet guy."

Oghi grumbled under his breath as she began moving far faster then he was comfortable with. Bouncing around and banging his head several times he couldn't believe she'd talked him out of the nice chair with the seat-belts.

* * *

Arriving back to his Sutherland, Lelouch was not pleased to find his passenger missing. Since the Knightmare was still present and unguarded he ruled out her being taken. The most likely explanation was that she'd simply left on her own. Trying to control his irritation as he powered the frame back up and headed towards an entrance to the underground he tried to remind himself that in her place, he would have escaped as well. It did little calm him down until he realized he had other priorities at the moment. Still, he'd really wanted those answers.

Following the tunnels he vaguely remembered from his time in Japan before the invasion, he began to make his way back towards Ashford Academy. Most people didn't know it, but the original purpose of the academy before the Ashford family fled Pendragon after his mother's murder was that of a Knightmare research and manufacturing lab. The facilities were by no means a regular factory but there was a small manufacturing bay and large hangers for Knightmare storage and maintenance. Access was limited to two hidden elevators, one in the Student council building for staff and another in a nearby storage facility for Knightmares. There was also a hidden entrance that connected to Japan's old subway system for deliveries of raw materials. Reaching that entrance, he used the wireless transmitter in the Sutherland to transmit an access code and hurriedly entered to avoid possible detection.

Backing the frame into a maintenance bay, Lelouch sighed in relief as he shut down the Knightmare. The day had taken its toll on him and he couldn't control the slight tremor in his hands as the picture of shooting Clovis appeared in his head. _It seems I'm not as hardened as I thought_, he mused as he made his way to the staff elevator after changing back into his school uniform.

Noting the time, Lelouch stopped to look in on his sister, a sad smile on his face as he gazed at her sleeping form. Quietly crossing to her, he gently held her hand and kissed her forehead with a murmured "sweet dreams little sister." Tucking in the blankets she'd disturbed in her sleep, Lelouch took a long look at her peaceful face before turning to leave. _I know that she wouldn't wish it of me, but for her sake I will destroy the corruption of our father's empire. Someday she won't have to remain hidden to avoid being a puppet, this I so swear!_

Headed to his room he was not surprised when he saw Milly sitting in the student council room waiting for him as he passed. Entering the room he slid into the seat across from her and waited for her to speak.

"So," she said quietly. "You've decided to begin then?" Lelouch nodded, unwilling to speak for some reason. "I see," Milly sighed in response. "I don't suppose I could talk you out of it?"

Lelouch cleared his throat. "No, you've always known that we couldn't just hide here forever. Sooner or later someone would discover us and we'd be forced back to Pendragon if they didn't just kill us. This isn't just a whim Milly, you know I wouldn't risk Nunnally like that."

Milly drummed her fingers on the table as she considered Lelouch's words. "I suppose you have a point and I truly can't see you doing something like this on impulse." She paused and her face tightened with anger. "I have my own reasons for hating the empire, is there something I can do to help?"

Lelouch shook his head. "No, while I do not intend to fail, I wouldn't repay your families kindness by dragging you into this. I would like a favor though, if the worst does happen, destroy the records connecting me to Nunnally and protect her please."

Milly smiled at him. "You know you don't have to ask for that. I love your sister almost as much as you do, you know that."

Lelouch stood with a smile. "True but I felt that I should at least be proper and ask."

Milly stood with a grin. "No, you're doing it wrong, you're suppose to ask on one knee."

"What?"

"I'm sorry Lulu," Milly said gravely. "At this time, I don't think I can commit my heart to you, I'm afraid I can't marry you." While Lelouch was frozen in something between disbelief and shock Milly bounced over and kissed him hard as she grabbed the sides of his face. Pulling back slightly, she stared him in the eye. "Be careful Lelouch and don't forget who you are and what you fight for." Letting him go, she turned and bounced from the room humming something cheerful under her breath. Lelouch sat frozen in his chair staring after her until he blinked and shook his head. "What the hell was that?"

* * *

_Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defense can be just._

_Marcus Tullius Cicero_

* * *

An

Seemed like a good endpoint. Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Setting the Stage

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

Unbeta'd until Dragon gets freed up and has time.

* * *

_Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win._

_Sun Tzu_

* * *

Still reeling a bit from his conversation with Milly, that kiss had been a bit shocking, Lelouch headed to bed only stopping long enough to answer Viletta's call after noticing he'd missed about a dozen of them. _Right, orders have to be literal with her_, he thought after instructing her to resume her normal duties until further contact from him. _I suppose like anything else this power has a learning curve, I'll have to be more careful in the future._ It took him awhile to fall asleep as plan after plan bounced around his mind.

In the morning after his usual breakfast with Nunnally, Lelouch spent a good deal of time experimenting on his classmates and teachers with his geass. With a full appreciation of the power he could wield, he was careful to limit his orders to simple commands with end conditions. It simply wouldn't do to accidentally enslave yet another person. By afternoon he'd determined that there were few limits on his geass but the ones that existed were troubling. _So, I can't use this on someone twice and it requires direct eye-contact. It seems that tinted glass will also stop my geass. I wonder what would happen if I used a mirror?_ He shuddered a bit at the thought, ordering yourself to do something was disturbing.

* * *

Headed into his afternoon class while half listening to Rivalz yammer on about something he froze when he saw an addition to the usual class. When Rivalz bumped into him, he muttered and apology and moved across the room trying to listen inconspicuously to the girls gathered around a sickly looking redhead.

"Kallen, it's been ages," one of the girls squealed excitedly.

"Are you ok," her friend asked right on top of the first girl.

"Sophie's been worried about you," the third girl added.

The redhead, Kallen apparently, responded in a weak tone. "Yes, but I can't strain myself. If I take too much time off, I'll never be able to catch up with everyone else."

His heart pounding Lelouch took his seat as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. There was no doubt, she might be acting weak now, but this was Q-1!

Rivalz leaned over and followed Lelouch's gaze. "Whatcha looking at? Ahh, I see, does Lelouch have a crush?"

Lelouch brushed it off. "No, I was just thinking this is rare, she hasn't been here much this term."

"I see," Rivalz responded ignoring the death-glare Shirley was shooting him. "Kallen Stadfeld, I hear she isn't well, barely comes to school but somehow manages to keep her grades up."

"I see," Lelouch mumbled. A sick, absent Brittanian student was a hell of a cover for a resistance member. Seems she was laying low after the events of yesterday. It made a great deal of sense but he wondered what her motivation was. Why would a Brittanian school girl even join a resistance group. He had motivation, so did Milly, what was Kallen's.

Rivalz continued unaware Lelouch was barely paying attention to him. "She's the Stadfeld heir so she has money and she's always very quiet here at school. You have very high standards Lelouch."

Lelouch grunted in irritation, "it's not like that. I was wondering about if she'd already joined a club."

Rivalz turned his head with a quizzical look. "Huh?"

Lelouch sighed and massaged his temple. "You know the school requires club membership and as absent as she is, there aren't many she qualifies for. I was wondering if we could use her on the student council."

"I suppose we could," Rivalz responded after a moment. "Why do you care though?"

"I don't really," Lelouch replied bluntly. "If she joins then Milly will have another target for her antics and we might avoid having to cross-dress or wear bizarre costumes again."

Rivalz shuddered at memory of the previous year's cross-dress ball. "I think you've hit on a splendid idea. Should I ask Milly after class break?"

"No, I'll just invite her to the student council building after school and unleash Milly on her."

"Wow, you really don't play fair do you," Rivalz said with a grin.

Lelouch frowned. "I consider anything that allows me to avoid wearing a dress ever again to be fair."

Rivalz slid his chair back to his desk as class began. "Agreed."

* * *

Kallen was having a very bad day. Oghi had ordered her to go to school, apparently it was safe enough for him in the ghetto but not for her, oh no. Then she had to deal with the stupid socialite girls all fluttering around her with their inane chatter. She couldn't even tell them off because she was of course a weak, sheltered little Brittanian noble girl. It made for a great cover but she hated acting like an invalid and pretending to be meek.

To make things worse, the class 'prince' had been watching her all afternoon. She'd never caught him when she'd looked but she could feel his gaze and it worried her. She was use to guys looking at her, pretending to be weak hadn't changed her body to be any less attractive and she was of course, the heir of a noble family. It would be far more strange if they didn't look but something about this Lelouch's gaze was different.

She almost had a panic attack she barely controlled when the teacher called for him to read aloud in class. _That voice, _she thought in disbelief. It made no sense but he had the same voice that the mysterious Zero did. After he sat down she kept shooting quick glances at him even going so far as to watch him in the small mirror from her compact. It had to be a coincidence but what if it wasn't. She needed some way to confirm things.

* * *

At the end of classes for the day, Lelouch quickly packed up and told Rivalz to gather the other council members in the clubhouse. Walking over to Kallen and ignoring the girls hovering over her, he plastered a fake grin on his face. "Excuse me Miss Stadfeld, could you come with me, I'd like to talk with you about clubs."

Kallen narrowed her eyes and stood. "Yes, I was expecting a student council member to discuss this with me." Collecting her things, she forced a mild smile on her face. "Shall we?"

Ignoring the gossiping girls, Lelouch lead Kallen to the student council building. "I'm sorry," he said as they walked. "From what I overheard as we left, apparently we're secretly engaged. You can probably expect the rest of the campus to believe that by tomorrow."

Kallen tensed, then made herself relax. "Oh, it's just a silly rumor, I'm sure no one would believe that," she said mildly.

Lelouch sighed and held the door to the student council building open for her. "I wish that was true."

Stepping into the building Kallen looked around with unfeigned awe. "Wow, this is very nice. I had no idea there was a building like this on campus."

Lelouch continued to play tour guide as the entered the main hall. "Yes, it's the student council building now but it was originally built as a small reception hall for balls and formal dances and such."

"I see," Kallen said. "So we're all alone here then?" She gripped her concealed knife pouch tightly waiting for his answer.

"Not exactly, the other student council members should be shortly. It's come to our attention that you have never formally joined a club here at school and the rules require that you do so."

Kallen's eyes widened in surprise and she relaxed the grip on the knife. "I'm sorry, what?"

Before Lelouch could reply a loud voice sounded through the room. "Ah, there you are," Milly cried triumphantly as she pushed a tray loaded with food into the room. "I believe welcoming a new member deserves a party." Cheerfully oblivious she began sliding trays onto one of the tables as the rest of the student council filed down to greet their new member.

"Sorry," Lelouch muttered to a dumbstruck Kallen, I thought we'd have a bit more time but the President is, well she's more or less a law unto herself." Watching her setting the table he snorted. "Perhaps more like walking natural disaster or force of nature really."

"Student council?" Kallen asked in confusion.

Motioning her to follow him over to the table, Lelouch continued to explain. "As I said, school rules require you join a club and we felt given your illness that it would be best if you join us. An absence here wouldn't affect us like it would a normal club."

Sliding into the seat he had pulled out for her, her mind overwhelmed. She'd thought he was the voice from Shinjuku, the man calling himself Zero. But it seemed he was just doing his job as a member of the student council. It was foolish to think that the man responsible for the victory in Shinjuku would be here at Ashford. Currently she was feeling somewhat like an idiot.

The rest of the council sat and introduced themselves to Kallen. "Hey, I'm Rivalz, the secretary. If you need anything, just ask me.

The next was a friendly girl with long orange-brown hair. "I'm Shirley and I'm also in the swim club, it's very nice to meet you.

Finally a very shy girl with brown hair and glasses spoke. "I'm Nina."

As the introductions ended a girl in a wheelchair entered the room carrying a tray on her lap. "Um, excuse me Shirley, could you set these on the table please," she said softly.

Motioning Shirley to stay seated Lelouch got up and went to get the tray from his sister. "Hello Nunnally," he said with a warm smile. "How was your day?"

"It was good big brother," she replied with a matching smile.

Milly leaned towards Kallen and whispered. "That's Nunnally, Lelouch's little sister. She's very nice but be careful how you treat her. Lelouch is very protective of her, the last boy who picked on her and made her cry was run over by a car the next day."

Kallen blinked, and she'd thought her brother was overprotective. _Of course I'm also not blind and in a wheelchair,_ she thought as she watched Lelouch chat cheerfully with his sister as he pushed her up to the table next to Kallen. _He's certainly different from class when he talks to his sister._

Nunnally held up her hand for Kallen to shake. "Hello, I'm Nunnally, I'm in middle school so I'm not actually part of the student council."

Rivalz spoke up from across the table. "That's ok, you're an associate member," he said with a great deal of warmth in his voice.

Kallen glanced around and noticed that everyone present all seemed to dote on Nunnally and while not ready to do so herself, agreed that Nunnally seemed like a very pleasant girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you Nunnally," she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Nunnally said with a smile.

What followed was a very pleasant meal with a great deal of laughter and good cheer at the table. Even Kallen loosened her act a bit and made several jokes that the other members enjoyed. _I still hate Brittanians_, she thought, _but this is far more enjoyable than I was expecting. Perhaps this part of my cover won't be so annoying._

As the meal drew to a conclusion, Rivalz pulled out a bottle of champagne. "Now that we've eaten, we should drink a toast!"

Lelouch groaned and covered his face as Rivalz tried to get the cork out of the bottle while also fending off Shirley's attempts to take the bottle away. When Rivalz managed to get the cork free, Lelouch was the only one that saw Kallen bat the cork headed at her face away with her hand before contents of the bottle emptied on her head. _Well, that confirms it_, he thought as he watched everyone stare at Kallen. _That is definitely Q-1_.

Standing Lelouch moved over by Kallen. "If you'll clean up here, I'll show Kallen where she can shower and I'll have Sayoko fine her a change of clothes." Getting agreements, Lelouch sighed and turned to Kallen. "Follow me please."

Traveling upstairs after Lelouch, Kallen glanced in one of the rooms they passed and saw a chessboard set up in what appeared to be mid-game. A sudden burst of insight caused her to hurriedly cover her mouth before Lelouch heard her gasp. It occurred to her that in Shinjuku, Zero had named the units of her resistance group after chess pieces. Staring at Lelouch's back, her earlier suspicions of his voice flooded back to her. She was now fairly sure he was the mysterious Zero but the hows and whys escaped her. She knew why she fought the empire, but why would someone like Lelouch? At some point, she was going to force some answers from him.

Leaving Kallen to shower, Lelouch stopped by his room to pick up a few things while Sayoko gathered some clothes for Kallen. Stopping the maid with a hand on her shoulder, Lelouch spoke to her quietly. "I'm aware of why the Ashford family hired you and why they transferred your service to us." Ignoring the mild surprise he saw in her eyes, he continued to speak in a low voice. "I need to speak to Kallen privately but she is far more dangerous than she appears. For today I want you to guard Nunnally until she leaves. If something happens to me, get my sister clear. I've stashed a cellphone in her emergency bags that has account information if it's required. Do you have any questions?"

Sayoko regarded her employer carefully. "Are you sure you wish for me to guard Miss Nunnally? I could stand guard over you if Miss Kallen is a threat."

Lelouch gave her a tight grin but was far from upset with Sayoko's question. "For today, no I do not. Tomorrow after my sister retires, I believe we should speak on important matters."

Sayoko dipped her head in acknowledgment of her orders. "Yes Your Highness," she said almost inaudibly.

Lelouch laughed as he headed for the bathroom to drop off the clothes for Kallen. "So you know," he said. "Yes, we should definitely talk tomorrow."

* * *

Reaching the bathroom, Lelouch knocked on the door and announced himself. "It's Lelouch, I have a change of clothes for you." Kallen called back that the curtain was closed and that it was alright to enter. Stepping in, Lelouch paused a moment when he saw Kallen's form silhouetted against the curtain. The sight caused his heart to beat a bit faster, he was stoic not gay and Kallen had a very impressive form. "Sorry about this," he called over the sound of the shower. "Sometimes they get a bit lively and I usually get stuck cleaning up the mess."

Standing under the water Kallen called back. "It's not to bad, It's good to have fun sometimes. You brought those clothes fast, did you go all the way to the dorms?"

Lelouch placed the clothes in a basket. "No, it would be very difficult for my sister to live in the dorms so the academy chairman lets us stay here as a favor. Our families were old friends apparently."

Turning to leave he stopped when Kallen called out to him while sticking her hand around the curtain and pointing. "Hey, before you go, can you hand me that pouch?"

"Sure," Lelouch replied moving over to pick it up. Rolling his eyes since she couldn't see him, he wondered where she'd gotten her hands on an assassins pouch even if this one seemed to be some sort of cheap knockoff. Passing it over he wasn't surprised when she grabbed his arm and he pulled the pistol from the small of his back and pulled the hammer back with his thumb. "Gun trumps knife Miss Stadfeld."

Kallen froze when she heard the sound, this certainly wasn't what she'd been hoping for. Still, it added a great deal to her theory that Lelouch was Zero. "It seems odd for a schoolboy to have a pistol," she said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yes," Lelouch agreed with a trace of humor in his voice. "Almost as odd as a schoolgirl with an assassins pouch right Q-1?"

Eyes widening at the sudden confirmation she let go of his arm and jerked the curtain aside. "So it _was_ you yesterday!"

Still holding the pistol on her, Lelouch fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, it was me and I was going to discuss it with you after your shower but someone had to jump the gun." Pausing as she continued to just stand there and stare at him, Lelouch gestured with the pistol. "You do realize I can see you right?"

Kallen flushed a red that almost matched her hair and jerked the curtain closed. "Go away," she croaked mortified.

"I think not," Lelouch replied. "You did just pull a knife on me, I think I'll just stay here like this until I no longer fear for my life."

"Please go away," Kallen moaned from behind the curtain. "You said you wanted to talk after my shower. Let me finish up and we can have that conversation."

Lelouch sighed. "Fine, I'll step outside but I if I see that knife again I will shoot you."

"Alright, alright, I get it, now GET OUT!"

Standing outside the door Lelouch massaged his neck with the hand not holding the pistol on the door. _Can't believe she pulled the knife on me,_ he mentally complained. _To be fair though, as a rebel she should be careful and I did manage to scare the life out of her._ Straightening as the door opened, he noted that Kallen looked a bit worn down but in a different way than her earlier meek act at school. Gesturing with the pistol for her to move down the hall in front of him he guided her to the hidden elevator to the underground. "I'm going to show you something as a sign of good faith, " he told her as they descended. "Then I'm going to ask you some questions, if I don't like the answers, well you won't remember any of this. Understand?"

Kallen nodded but she was puzzled by his statement that she wouldn't remember anything. If he didn't like her answers, was he going to drug her? That didn't seem like something a high school student could do but most students also don't assassinate princes or command soldiers to victory. Reaching the bottom and exiting the elevator still at gunpoint she froze and gasped in surprise at the sight of the Sutherland from yesterday parked in what looked like a maintenance bay. Looking around further, she couldn't believe her eyes when she was several knightmare parts as well as several incomplete frames. "What the hell is this?"

Lelouch pointed her to a nearby table covered in maps and papers and motioned for her to take a seat. "Welcome Q-1 to the lair of Zero," he said dramaticly before chuckling. "This is the Ashford Knightmare Research Center. The Ashford family originally built this section of the school as a Knightmare research and development facility. After their 'fall from grace' they closed it down and Milly grabbed the building above us for the student council."

Kallen narrowed her eyes, "does she know about all of this?"

Lelouch nodded. "Yes, she is the one that showed it to me. Now I believe it's time for you to answer some questions."

Kallen snarled at him. "I won't betray my comrades, I'd die first."

"Your resolve is impressive but misplaced Miss Stadfeld. My questions are about you. My first is, why are you, a Brittanian noble a member of the Japanese resistance?"

Kallen crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Lelouch. "One could ask the same of you."

Lelouch tipped his head to acknowledge the hit. "Indeed but I will trade you, answer my questions and I will answer yours."

Kallen huffed out a breath, "Fine, I'm Japanese. Well, I'm half Brittanian but I hate that. My brother ran Oghi's resistance group but he got caught and Clovis's men butchered him. That's why I fight."

Lelouch tilted his head as he gazed at her then lowered his pistol to the table and left it there within easy reach. "A further show of goodwill you could say, I had worried that you were possibly an O.S.I agent. Now, what do you fight for?"

Kallen regarded him curiously. "To liberate Japan of course, what else."

Lelouch palmed his face and groaned. She was right, it was the obvious answer but it lacked so very much depth. Standing up he left the pistol and motioned for him to follow him. Reaching the elevator, he punched in the surface code and considered how much to reveal. "I assume you wish to know why I fight?" Receiving a nod, he gathered his thoughts and exited the elevator Kallen trailing behind him. "Seven almost eight years ago my mother was murdered. The attack left my sister crippled and blind a condition that remains to this day. There is nothing physically wrong with her eyes, the doctors say the trauma of the attack, being trapped under my mother was to much and so she refuses to see. Anyway, I appeared before my father to demand justice and for my _impudence_ my sister and I were exiled to Japan as diplomatic hostages."

Reaching the balcony overlooking the lower floor were the rest of the council was gather, Lelouch allowed Kallen time to gather her thoughts. "Diplomatic hostages? Wait, Lelouch, Nunnally? But that makes you?"

"Yes," Lelouch said coldly, "Lelouch Vi Brittania, Eleventh Prince and the man who will smash the Empire. That is who I am. You ask why I would fight the empire, look down at my sister. The Emperor believes the strong devour the weak, that the weak are useless. In his world, what place would there be for a gentle soul like hers?

Kallen had hundreds of questions rattling around in her head but stayed focused on what Lelouch was saying and how he was saying it. There was no way to fake the kind of anger she was seeing as he spoke and she felt herself being somewhat mesmerized by his words.

"During the invasion, I had to carry Nunnally on my back across a war-zone to find sanctuary here with old friends of the family. I vowed that someday I would destroy Brittania and make a peaceful world for her, that is why I fight." Turning back to Kallen, Lelouch tried to relax and shake the anger from his voice. "I intend to build an army Kallen, one that can liberate Japan then destroy Brittania."

"So you intend to use us a game pieces then?" Kallen demanded hotly.

"No, I do not," Lelouch retorted. "Even if I did, if it got you what you want, would you care?"

"What?"

"I intend for Japan to be liberated as the first major goal towards taking the empire down, I have a plan, the resources but not the manpower. Tell me, before yesterday, how close were you to liberating Japan?"

Kallen shook her head. "Not very?"

Lelouch snorted. "Before yesterday all you'd ever done to fight accomplished nothing. Brittania can't be defeated by a handful of resistance fighters taking shots from time to time. Only organized war can remove them, it will be long and bloody but it can be done. Is that what you want?"

"More than anything," Kallen replied honestly.

Pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket along with a pen Lelouch quickly scribbled out a set of coördinates and handed it to Kallen. "If it is truly what you want, have your group at these coördinates tomorrow at 2200 along with the Knightmares and other equipment."

Kallen looked over the numbers. "Where is this?"

"That is the underground entrance to the facility I showed you tonight. I intend to use it as the base for our new army. I feel I should tell you now that I will be hiding my identity and I do not want you revealing it. I doubt very many would fight for a high school student so I will hide my face."

Kallen protested that, "but after yesterday they'd have to listen right?"

Lelouch gazed at her sadly. "Tell me Kallen, your group, it sees you as their best pilot and they respect you but does anyone ever actually listen to you?"

Kallen frowned. "No, not really. Oghi does sometimes but mostly he just tells me that something is for my own good or that he promised my brother to keep me safe."

"Exactly."

Kallen hung her head in defeat. "Will you at least tell Oghi?"

Lelouch stared at her. "I suppose I could," he said grudgingly. "For now, we need to rejoin the party, we've been away for awhile." Leading her down the stairs he raised his voice. "So, as you can see the duties for the student council are fairly limited, mostly just catering to our esteemed presidents whims."

Kallen caught on quickly. "Oh, you mean like the school festival?"

Lelouch shrugged. "That and things like the cross-dressing festival, the absolute silence party, and going to class in your swimsuit day."

Kallen's eyes widened and she gawked at Lelouch. "What are those?"

Lelouch rolled his eyes and snorted. "As I said, we mostly just cater to the presidents whims. She'll drag you into something strange before you know it so be ready."

Kallen sighed in defeat and sat down to socialize with the other council members while she waited for her clothes to dry. As soon as they were done she said her goodbyes and left as fast as she could. Pulling out her cellphone as she reached the school gates she dialed Oghi's number from memory. "Oghi? Yeah, I know I'm suppose to be lying low but I've got big news. WHAT? No, I am not pregnant, where the hell did you get that idea? Stop whimpering, I wasn't that loud. Would you shut up, I found the voice. Ok, fine it's more he found me, happy? No, I don't think he's a threat to us. Look, I don't want to talk about this on the phone, send someone to pick me up. Oghi, this is more important than me lying low. Oh really, then I suppose you're not interested in funding and manufacturing capabilities? Yes I'm serious, just send someone. Alright, Tamaki in half an hour. Bye." Hanging up she massaged her temples to ease the sudden headache. That conversation had driven home Lelouch's point about hiding his identity to be taken seriously.

Reaching her father's house, she hardly considered it her home, she sat on the steps waiting for Tamaki to show up. Now all she had to do was somehow figure out a way to convince Oghi to move all their equipment and follow a man she wasn't sure she should be supporting at all. Lelouch was a Brittanian prince for fucks sake, but that fire in his eyes, his sheer rage at the empire was very convincing. It didn't hurt that she'd heard him shoot the Viceroy even if it hadn't made the news yet. She sighed in irritation. At least she'd gotten him to agree to reveal himself to Ohgi, that was something, after that it was out of her hands. Waving to Tamaki as he arrived on a motorcycle she couldn't help thinking that Oghi was probably massively outmatched.

* * *

After tucking Nunnally in and reading her a bedtime story, something usually reserved for kids but a special tradition for his sister, Lelouch retreated to the underground facility. Trying to take his mind off what he would do if Oghi and his group didn't show tomorrow Lelouch threw himself into reviewing financial data and the possibility of discretely buying more manufacturing capacity. The Ashford facility was nice but maxed out it could produce perhaps five knightmares a week tops. It was certainly better than nothing but he didn't have the data he needed to produce anything. It wasn't like he was a mechanical engineer, he wasn't going to just fiddle with the computers down here and produce a practical machine.

Slumping back in his chair with a groan of frustration, an idea struck him suddenly. He'd forgotten he had an agent in the Brittanian military, a knightmare pilot no less. Certainly she could get access to the data he needed? Pulling out his phone, he dialed Viletta. "Hello Viletta, do you have anything to report?"

His eyes narrowed in anger and disgust as she explained her superior's plan to frame Suzaku Kururugi for the death of Viceroy Clovis. When she reached the part where Suzaku was to be paraded to his trial, Lelouch's mind began planning out a rescue operation. Something showy and dramatic, something to give the Japanese people hope. Viletta's information gave him almost four days to prepare. It was unfortunate that some of that time would be wasted on school but still plenty of time. "You've done well," he told Viletta. "But I have a new task for you. You are to continue your normal duties and remain undetected but I need knightmare production and maintenance data, will you be able to acquire it for me within those constraints?" There was a short pause on the other end of the line Lelouch took to be Viletta considering her options. He couldn't help a victorious grin when she told him that she could do as he directed. "Good, very good. When you have the information I need, you are to call this number as soon as you can without raising suspicion."

Noting the time, Lelouch began wrapping things up, today had been rather hectic, he couldn't imagine tomorrow would be any less so. Standing in the elevator back to the student council building he wondered why he hadn't just used his geass on Kallen. The image of Viletta just standing there vacantly in the warehouse waiting for orders popped into his head. _I suppose that affected me more than I thought,_ he mused tiredly. _I suppose I want people to follow me because they believe it is right not because they have to. Besides, it would be foolish to use this power as a crutch, it is simply a tool._

Reaching his room, he found Sayoko standing outside waiting on him. "Turning in for the night Master Lelouch," she inquired.

Lelouch nodded tiredly. "Yes, it's been a long day and tomorrow will be interesting as well. After Nunnally retires tomorrow, meet me in the study, we'll have our talk then."

Sayoko bowed and turned to leave. "As you wish Master Lelouch, good night."

"Good Night Sayoko."

* * *

_Opportunities multiply as they are seized._

_Sun Tzu_

* * *

An

And cut. Not much action, very much just setting the stage. At this point we're still fairly close to canon, some big changes, Kallen knows who he is, the Ashford facilities, Viletta etc. At this point, Lelouch is having his meeting with what will become the Black Knights three days ahead of canon plus has more to offer then just his tactical and strategic skills. See you next chapter. o7


	3. Opening the Curtain

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass

An

Now things start to get rolling. :D I've been avoiding Japanese honorifics but I'm gonna have to make an exception for Nunnally. Oni-sama flows better than big brother and doesn't irk me near as much. I would also like to point out that Lelouch views Nunnally in a way that's almost more like a daughter then a sister o7

As usual, unbeta'd until Dragon can get around to it.

* * *

_Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head._

_Euripides _

* * *

Following the usual morning routine, Lelouch skipped his morning classes to take care of a few things he needed done. A stop at a tailor and the use of his geass netted him what he intended to use as his uniform. Another stop, he collected a large number of earpiece tactical radios. The old hand-held versions the resistance group was using were a tactical weakness and they annoyed him. His final stop was completely innocent. Nunnally was running very low on the construction paper she used to make her cranes. Lelouch had rolled his eyes at Sayoko after she'd explained the legend of the thousand cranes but if it made Nunnally happy he wasn't going to take that away from her.

Having already shipped his other items back to the campus Lelouch thought he would just carry the box of paper back himself. This proved a mistake as it was heavier than he'd thought and Milly caught him staggering back onto campus. Unable to evade her without dropping the box and probably not even then, he sighed and accepted his fate as she frogmarched him to the student council building. "Lelouch," she scolded upon arrival. "You can't keep cutting class, as the student council vice president it sets a very bad example."

"It's not like I'm not keeping my grades up," he scoffed wondering what had set Milly on the warpath. "I had several things I needed to do today so I got them done and I'll be present for the afternoon class alright?"

Milly frowned and nibbled her lip. "Were you shopping for what we spoke about the day before yesterday?"

Lelouch scanned the room hastily, they were still alone. "Hey," he hissed. "Keep your voice down when saying stuff like that. Some of it was yes but I also needed to pick up some more construction paper for Nunnally."

Milly opened the box Lelouch had set on the table and fingered the colored paper with a whimsical smile. "You spoil her rotten you know. I'm amazed she isn't a brat."

Lelouch grinned back. "I know but she isn't one and I like seeing her happy." His grinned turned a bit sad. "It's not like it takes much to make her happy."

Milly nodded and made to speak but stopped and looked somewhat unsure of herself. As Lelouch gazed at her with curiosity, she seemed to make up her mind. "I want in, I know you said I should just protect Nunnally but I want to do something more."

Lelouch shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure," he hedged. "I don't really know what I could use you for. You're not infantry or a knightmare pilot, not an assassin and I'm the one always fixing the council books after you do horrid, horrid things to them." Seeing the heartbroken look Milly was giving him, Lelouch held up a hand to forestall her comment. "Hey, I'm not saying you're useless, I just don't know where to use you alright?"

"Alright," Milly said slowly when he was finished. "I just want to hit the bastards back for what they did to my family you know."

Lelouch leaned back in his chair and tried to think of something Milly could do that would keep her out of harms way and still leave her with deniability so she could protect Nunnally. Her skills were pretty much limited to creating mayhem, he mentally smacked himself for forgetting, that she created by spreading and controlling information. He was he realized, sitting across from an almost perfect public relations officer. The best part, it was a non-combat role and no one could prove she did it if the worst happened. "I think I have something you might like," he said with a smirk. "Think you're up to manipulating the public image of a revolutionary army?"

Milly's eyes widened in surprise then began to sparkle with some of her normal insanity. "I think I might be able to accommodate you Lulu," she said coyly and fluttered her eye-lashes at him. Standing up, a lecherous expression crossed her face and she moved to pin Lelouch in his chair. "I think we should do something to celebrate," she breathed in his ear.

To Lelouch's immense relief the warning bell for afternoon classes rang interrupting Milly's mischief. "Well, seems we're out of time," he said hurriedly pushing her back and getting to his feet. "I didn't make the morning classes but I have to make the afternoon ones. Such a pity."

Trailing after him towards the door Milly laughed, a bright and cheerful laugh. "One of these days you won't have an escape route Lulu," she said amusement still in her voice.

Lelouch sighed and slumped his shoulders as he walked. "One of these days I might just take you up on those offers you know," he retorted.

Milly flashed him a sunny smile as she headed off to her own classes. "Hah, no you won't. That's why it's so much fun."

Lelouch grumbled then remembered he needed to tell Milly something. Not feeling like chasing after her, especially after her last comment, Lelouch pulled out his phone and sent her a message to meet with him after classes. The odds were that he would have seen her anyway but long habit made him stack the odds in his favor as much as he could. Random chance was for those without the intellect to plan ahead.

Taking his seat in class, Kallen caught his eye and gave him a small nod and a small strained smile. Lelouch nodded back slightly and noted that the girls surrounding Kallen all began buzzing after the exchange. Lelouch met Kallen's eye, his expression screaming "I told you so," and Kallen responded by thumping her head into her desk causing Lelouch to suppress a snort.

Rivalz and Shirley were watching the interaction, Rivalz with a knowing smirk and Shirley with an almost panicked look. Rivalz waggled his eye-brows suggestively as he teased Lelouch. "So, what's the story there?"

Lelouch gave him a blank stare then shrugged. "I warned her yesterday that the other girls made more out of me bringing her to the student council after class. She didn't believe it would be a problem." He finished with a smirk. "Since we're apparently engaged now according to the gossip I'm hearing from all the way over here, I think she believes me now."

Shirley jumped into the conversation at that point. "Lulu, it's not true is it? I wouldn't believe it but all the girls are talking about it today and you seem different."

Lelouch sighed, he wasn't sure why Shirley had such a huge crush on him but her tendency to watch him so closely could be trouble. "No," he said reassuringly. "I just formally met her yesterday remember. The girls are simply taking me asking her to come with me to the student council building to extremes."

After briefly searching his face as if trying to determine the truth, Shirley relaxed and went back to her seat. "You know," Rivalz said before Lelouch held up his hand to stop him.

"Yes, I know but I'm not interested."

Rivalz shrugged. "You could do a lot worse. I kinda feel sorry for her."

Lelouch frowned at his friend in annoyance. "She's a great girl and a good friend but I'm just not interested in her."

Rivalz sighed as the bell rang to began class. "Just saying."

* * *

The rest of the day played out in a normal manner until dinner with the rest of the student council. The easy banter around the table was stilled when the TV in the background switch over to an emergency broadcast. Lelouch watched impassively as Clovis's death was announced, pointedly ignoring the way Kallen, Milly and Sayoko all turned to look at him. He did draw a moderate amount of amusement, not that he dared show it, when the three women realized the others were watching Lelouch as well. Sayoko with her training as both a kunoichi and a maid remained impassive. Milly and Kallen both had to visibly restrain themselves from saying anything but made up for it by turning death-glares on Lelouch.

At this point Lelouch was ignoring both of them as he silently fumed at Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, the interim viceroy's speech. _Died fighting for peace and justice my ass,_ he thought furiously. When Jeremiah announced Suzaku as the assassin, even his foreknowledge couldn't keep him grinding his teeth together in rage. He only snapped out of it when he noticed Nunnally looking extremely sad and he reached out to place his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Nunnally stiffened before relaxing and moving her hand up to cup her brothers. "I'm very tired Oni-sama, may I retire for the evening?"

Lelouch gently squeezed her shoulder in support. "It's still early but it's fine with me." Turning he gestured to Sayoko to attend to Nunnally. "I'll see you in a bit to tuck you in alright?"

Nunnally smiled in the direction of her brother's voice. "Thank you Oni-sama."

It didn't take long to chase most the members of the student council away, though he didn't even try with Milly and Kallen. As soon as they were sure that the others were gone, the two girls glared at Lelouch and pointed at each other. "What does she know?" They demanded in unison.

Lelouch sighed and considered his options. Running away seemed like a good idea but both girls looked rather murderous and he preferred to live. Glancing at his watch he thought of a way to at least end things quickly. "I was going to explain later, I wasn't aware they were going to broadcast that tonight." Looking to emphasize his next statement he tapped his watch. "Kallen, don't you have somewhere to be?"

Shooting a glance at a nearby clock, Kallen muttered several curses under her breath but refused to move. "I'm not leaving until I know what she knows," she hissed still pointing at Milly.

Lelouch ignored the way Milly was now glaring at Kallen and continued to try to defuse the situation. "I will explain more later but long story short, she is with us. The facility I showed you, I told you she showed it to me remember?"

Kallen flushed and tried to ignore the smug look Milly was now giving her. She'd actually forgotten about that but if Lelouch thought she was going to admit it, he could think again. "I see," she finally ground out. "You're right, I do have somewhere I need to be but I want a fuller explanation."

Lelouch shrugged. "I already said I would. As a matter of fact, she'll be at the meeting tonight and when I have to explain things to Oghi as you requested, I'll explain it then."

Kallen nodded and headed for the door. "See that you do."

Watching the volatile redhead leave Lelouch tried to ignore the look Milly was giving him. "Lulu, all alone now," she said sensually. "How about we continue our little chat from earlier?"

Lelouch palmed his face. "Milly, not interested in your games at the moment, I believe you had some questions." He finished his statement and lowered his hand to glare at the girl.

Seeing the glare, Milly reminded herself that as fun as teasing Lelouch was, there were limits and it looked like she was pushing them. "Alright," she pouted at having her fun taken away. "I saw the way she reacted earlier and I'm not stupid. First, she knows who you are. Second, you were the one to kill Clovis and she knows that as well. Am I wrong on either of these things."

Lelouch considered it a pity Milly hide this part of herself from other people. Granted the eccentric student council president persona she usually used wasn't fake, this analytical mind was just underneath it. "You're not wrong," he grudgingly admitted.

Milly tilted her head to regard him curiously. "Why does she know those things? You didn't even tell me about Clovis."

Lelouch tried to avoid the hint of hurt he heard in her voice and replied the best he could. "Because she was there for some of it. Kallen is only half Brittanian and she prefers her Japanese background. She is a member of the resistance group I lead to victory in Shinjuku. The most skilled of them in a knightmare by far as well."

Milly tried to hide her disbelief but failed. "Her? She's always sick and in the hospital missing school." She stopped and thought that over as Lelouch just rolled his eyes at her. "Oh, that would make a good cover wouldn't it," she mused after she stopped to think about it.

"Trust me," Lelouch said with a great deal of humor in his voice. "The girl you think you know is not the real Kallen at all." Still chuckling he checked his watch again and figured Sayoko would be finishing up with Nunnally soon. "I need to go tuck Nunnally in but you might as well make yourself comfortable. I will be speaking to Sayoko after Nunnally goes to sleep and you might as well listen in. Just make sure that listening is all you do," he finished with a mild glare.

Waving it off, Milly moved back over to the TV and began flipping channels giving Lelouch the feeling he was a servant who'd just been dismissed. Grumbling under his breath, Lelouch headed upstairs to find Sayoko and Nunnally just finishing brushing her hair for bed. He smiled wryly at the sight, once that had been his job but apparently he had a near miraculous ability to get the brush stuck on tangles no one else could find. He couldn't fault her for finally asking him if Sayoko could take over but the request had hurt him a surprising amount. It had worked out for the best of course, more bonding time between Sayoko and Nunnally but that he'd failed his sister in even such a minor way still bothered him some days.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice they had finished until Sayoko approached him. The amused look in Sayoko's eyes told him she hadn't missed him spacing off and he gave the maid a nod and a wry smile as he passed her to put his sister to bed. Wheeling her chair over to the side of the bed he carefully picked her up and transferred her to her bed. As he was doing it, Nunnally asked him about the news.

"That was Suzaku they mentioned on the news wasn't it?" she asked quietly.

Concentrating on carefully laying her on her bed, Lelouch didn't answer right away. "Yeah," he said after he had her fully transferred to her bed. "It looks like Suzaku is still alive."

As Lelouch pulled the covers up for her, Nunnally asked the question she really wanted answered. 'You don't think it's true do you? You know, about him and brother Clovis?"

Leaning down to kiss her forehead, Lelouch answered. "No, Suzaku would never do something like that. It's some kind of mistake."

Nunnally smiled at him. "Yes, it must be. Good night Oni-sama."

Lelouch gently stroked her hair, these were the only moments he could completely let his guard down and his smile was full of the love he had for his sister. "Good night Nunnally."

Heading downstairs, he called Viletta for an update on the plans regarding Suzaku and confirmed that the Margrave was still determined to make a show of parading him to his trial. _You want to make a show, but the one you get isn't what you'll be expecting,_ he thought as he hung up.

As expected, Lelouch found Milly and Sayoko waiting for him in the room he'd appropriated as his study years ago. Ignoring the two until he slid behind the desk, he turned to Sayoko. "I'm sure you've figured out that I have begun my revolt against my father." When Sayoko nodded Lelouch's demeanor became very serious. "I can not guarantee success in this endeavor and it seems a poor repayment for your excellent service to simply drag you into this. If you do not wish to be associated with this then now is the time to tell me."

Sayoko calmly measured Lelouch in response to his words. "I have two questions Master Lelouch. Do you intend to inform Miss Nunnally of this?"

"No," Lelouch spoke flatly. "I'm aware that my sister is a very strong girl but I don't think she understands that sometimes words solve nothing. I would prefer that she maintain her innocence."

"I see," Sayoko replied. "Very well, my second question. What do you actually intend to accomplish?"

Lelouch sighed and massaged his temple. "Trust you to ask a question without an easy answer. I intend to use the liberation of Japan as a means to fracture the Empire and destroy it. I will not stop until that goal is achieved or I am dead."

Sayoko bowed. "Then my service is yours Lelouch-sama."

Lelouch quirked an eye-brow at that. "Lelouch-sama, not Master Lelouch. A fine distinction Sayoko." Sayoko merely bowed again with a small smile. Glancing at the clock, Lelouch stood and spoke to Milly and Sayoko. "I'm expecting guests in the basement in about an hour. I would like for both of you present so finish anything you need to do."

Sayoko bowed and left without saying anything but Milly stayed behind. "Are you sure you want me there tonight? I doubt many Japanese resistance fighters are fond of Brittanians, even just students."

"I'm sure there will be issues but better that they get use to Brittanians now, this isn't a war the Japanese can win on their own." Lelouch gave her a very direct stare. "I know that you enjoy stirring up chaos but remember that doing so tonight could end with you being shot. No games! Now, I have to get ready and I recommend you wear something other than your school uniform if you want to be taken seriously."

Not waiting for a response, Lelouch headed for his room and pulled out the briefcase containing his uniform as Zero. Picking up the mask, he turned it to stare into its surface. "This is it," he whispered to himself. "Once I place this mask on, I am fully committed." Holding his breath, he flipped it around and slid it over his head. Slowly exhaling her tested the range of motion the mask allowed his head and ensured the slide system over his left eye worked. Standing he examined himself in the mirror, gone were the traces of Lelouch Lamperouge, in his place stood Zero.

Satisfied, he headed out to meet Milly and Sayoko near the elevator to the lab. Both seemed surprised as he strode towards them, the cape of his uniform billowing behind him as he moved. Outwardly ignoring the reaction, internally he was pleased by the hint of fear both had displayed even though they knew it was him. Motioning the women into the elevator, Lelouch wondered how long he would have to wait for Kallen and her friends to show.

* * *

Kallen double-checked her knightmare's location against the coordinates provided by Lelouch and found them to once again be correct. It had taken her a lot of arm pulling and some rather coarse language to get Oghi to agree to bring everything with them. It wasn't until she'd pointed out that they wouldn't even have the Sutherlands without Zero and that he had a perfect base for them before Oghi cracked. If Lelouch stood them up, Kallen was going to take forever to recover her reputation with the others and she was going to slowly strangle the jerk the next time she saw him at school.

At exactly 22:00 according to her Sutherlands clock, a massive block of what seemed to be rough concrete pushed away from the wall then slide aside with a low rumble. Kallen gawked as a figure she knew had to be Lelouch stood in the entrance. She'd known he would hide his identity but the cloak and mask were a bit much. Listening to the radio chatter from the rest of the group, she grudgingly admitted that knowing who was under the mask apparently ruined it. Everyone else seemed disturbed or worried. The radio chatter stopped as the figure outstretched both arms and bowed. "Welcome."

It didn't take long for the rebels to move the knightmares and gear inside and get organized. Kallen snorted, Oghi's old skills as a school teacher allowed him to organize chaos fairly well. After parking and shutting down her knightmare, she met up with the main members of the group. "See," she said waving her hand around. "I wasn't kidding at all about what he was offering."

The rest mumbled agreement as they looked around. Compared to the abandoned warehouse they'd been using, this place was fantastic. Their appreciation was cut short as the masked figure of Zero strode over.

"I understand I need to have a private meeting with Oghi and Kallen. In the meantime feel free to unpack and explore the living quarters through those doors," Zero said pointing at a set of double doors most had missed seeing. "Kallen, Oghi, if you would follow me," he said striding off.

Leading the two to what he'd claimed as his office, Zero opened the door and waved the duo inside. Both seemed surprised to see Milly and a maid though Kallen's was more curiosity on why they were there. Closing the door Zero moved behind the desk and slid the mask off becoming Lelouch once more.

Oghi's reaction was something along the lines Lelouch had imagined. "What the hell? Your just a kid, a Brittanian kid!"

Lelouch glared at the man while Kallen grabbed Oghi's arm to calm him down. "Yes, I'm Brittanian but I'm not just a kid," Lelouch said with icy calm. "I am the man who offers you the chance to see your home free of the Empire."

Oghi quieted down at that though he still seemed upset. "Why should I believe that?"

"Aside from leading you to victory in Shinjuku, supplying you with weapons and assassinating the Viceroy?"

Oghi considered it and looked thoughtful. "I suppose that you aren't just some kid but the men and women outside are my friends, why should I entrust them to you?"

Lelouch considered it carefully. "I agreed to reveal my identity to you as part of the deal I made with Kallen to bring you here." Lelouch's face became stern and commanding. "I am Lelouch vi Brittania, former prince of the Holy Brittanian Empire and the man that will destroy it."

Oghi looked disgusted at the revelation. "So, you plan to use us as pawns then? Everyone knows what the royal family is like, the strong devour the weak right?"

Lelouch's jaw set in a grim line. "No, and you would do very well not to compare me with those jackals again. The Emperor sent my sister and I here to die after I had the nerve to demand justice for my mother's murder. The day the invasion began, I took my sister out in her wheelchair to enjoy the evening. We were on a nearby hilltop the house staff and I had converted into a place for Nunnally to enjoy nature safely when a flight of Brittanian bombers utterly destroyed the house. If you'll recall, shortly after the invasion started, Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally became martyrs to the Brittanian cause." Lelouch had to pause and unclench his hands as the memories triggered the rage he'd felt when the betrayal had fully sunken in. "I swore on that day that I would destroy the Brittanian Empire and now I'm carrying out that oath.. Lelouch looked Oghi in the eyes. "If you choose not to follow me, I will not make you but you will never find a better chance for Japan's freedom. I do not see the Japanese themselves as pawns but you willing stepped onto the board when you joined the resistance. You're already in the game even if you didn't know it and now you need someone to move you for the win. It seems a harsh and cruel reality but as I asked Kallen, if it gets you what you want, do you care?"

Oghi sat tense in his chair as Lelouch's words brought back his own memories of the invasion. "I can't say that I trust you," he admitted. "Still, you did help us in Shinjuku and Kallen here seems to believe in you. I suppose I can give you a chance but if you betray us, I will personally kill you!"

Lelouch considered this and the corner of his mouth twitched into a crooked grin. "I accept your terms," he said calmly. "Don't think you can hold that over my head for everything," he said in a more serious tone. "We are creating an army, one that I will be leading into battle. I will expect to be obeyed."

"As long as you do not betray us, that shouldn't be a problem," Oghi retorted.

"Good," Lelouch said, sliding his mask back onto his head. "There are things we need to discuss with your command staff," Zero said as he stood. "The briefing room is two doors down from this one, bring them there."

"Why?" Oghi asked.

Zero turned to face the man. "Well, I would hope you'd want details as to my plan, but if you don't want them?"

Oghi scowled, he'd walked right into that one. "Fine, I'll go get them. Just remember what I said, its a promise not a threat." Zero nodded in response and headed to the briefing room followed by the maid and the Brittanian girl. With everything that Lelouch had said in the office, he'd completely forgotten to ask about them. Oghi shrugged, one of the others was sure to ask, he'd get the answer then.

A short time later Zero stood facing the members of Oghi's command staff. "As you are all aware, Suzaku Kururugi was arrested by the interim Viceroy Jeremiah Gottwald, supposedly for assassinating Viceroy Clovis. The reality is that this is a political move by the Pureblood faction of the Brittanian military as a pretense to do away with the 'honorary Brittanian' program and further crackdown on the Japanese people. I intend to rescue Suzaku and humiliate the interim Viceroy to stop it."

One of the assembled members spoke up. "How? They're sure to be guarding him heavily."

Zero activated a holographic map. "I have a source inside the Brittanian military," he announced. "In two days time, the Margrave intends to line this street with civilians and parade Suzaku to his so-called trial. Security will consist of the Margrave and his squad, four Sutherlands with an additional four Sutherlands on drop frames pacing the parade."

"That seems risky to attack," Kallen said as the group studied the map.

Zero turned to her," yes, if we planned a direct assault, there would be a bloodbath, mostly civilians. That's why I plan on using misdirection and guile to win."

The loudmouth Zero remembered from Shinjuku butted in. "So what, they're Brittanian, it's not like we should care. Before he could fully finish his sentence he was staring down the barrel of Zero's pistol.

Ignoring the shocked reactions from the others present, Zero focused on Tamaki. "Do you know why I killed Clovis," he asked in an extremely frigid manner. When Tamaki wisely kept his mouth shut and shook his head, Zero continued. "I asked him how he justified the massacre in Shinjuku and he responded,'they were only Elevens.' What good is it to overthrow a corrupt government if you intend to be just as bad?"

Milly stepped in and pushed Zero's pistol away from Tamaki's face. "He has every right to hate the Brittanians Zero," she said. Seeing a golden opportunity, she continued. "I realize how much you hate the idea of civilians being caught up in things like this but at least you limit yourself to not be like the Empire."

Seeing where Milly was taking things, Zero nodded even as he cursed himself inside his mask. One stupid comment from a jackass and he'd almost ruined everything he was working for. Holstering his pistol, he nodded at Tamaki. "My apologies, I tend to get very angry at the thought of civilian casualties."

Tamaki decided that he would accept the apology, the gun in his face had been unexpected and unpleasant but it brought up another question. "Who is she," he said pointing at the obviously Brittanian Milly. "Why is she here?"

Zero raised his hand and motioned to Milly. "This is Milly Ashford and her family own the facility we are currently using. The reason she is here is that she is very talented in pubic relations and human intelligence. As to why she is one of us, her family was exiled from the Empire for backing the late Empress Marianne. If you want to know more than that, you can ask her."

His gritted teeth hidden behind his mask, Zero moved back to his previous spot and zoomed the map in. _It would be so simple to just geass them into obeying but if I did, how would I be any different then my father. Still, it's tempting, especially that loudmouth._ "This mission calls for speed and stealth," he said as he began laying out his plan. It took him longer then he'd planned, it was after 01:00 before he'd managed to hammer down complaints and concerns. "Alright, it's late and we've got a lot to do so unless there is something else, lets end the meeting here."

Watching the group move to leave, Lelouch remembered someone. "One moment, which of you is the logistics officer?" Seeing some blank looks he resisted the urge to sigh. Building an army from scratch really sucked sometimes. "They one that handles buying supplies," he clarified.

A purple-haired women turned and approached him. "That would be me I guess."

"I see," Zero said as he picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to her. "Do you think your contacts can provide the materials on this list?"

The woman skimmed through the list and pursed her lips. "Most of this shouldn't be a problem expect perhaps the large bulk orders. The refined sakuradite will be the tricky part. Even if I can find it, it will be expensive. May I ask why you want it Zero?"

Zero regarded her for a moment. "It seemed rude of me to ask your name given that I'm using the name Zero but I find myself at a loss as to what to call you."

"Naomi Inoue. I prefer to be called by my last name though."

"Very well, Inoue. This facility has the capacity to produce knightmare frames. I have an agent procuring the manufacturing data for the Sutherland and if we have the necessary supplies, we can produce perhaps five knightmares a week."

Surprise, giddiness then concern crossed Inoue's face at the news. "Five a week isn't very many knightmares," she said quietly. "I'll admit that it's better than nothing but we'd still need the energy fillers and weapons for the frames."

"And now I see why you are the logistic officer," Zero said. "I have plans to expand our industrial capacity but it will have to wait until we have gained some momentum. As for the weapons and energy fillers, for now we'll just have to take them from the Brittanians. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is someone else I need to speak to. Good night Inoue."

Inoue looked at the list in her hand and then tot he retreating masked figure of Zero. "You really intend to do this don't you," she said hope in her voice. Grumbling under her breath she began planning on how to accomplish her new task as she left the room.

* * *

Safely in his office having been followed by Milly, Sayoko and Kallen, Lelouch locked the door and tore off his mask. Punching the wall in frustration under the silent eyes of the women he slunk down in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "Well, that could have gone better," he said bitterly.

Glancing at her companions, Milly decided to speak up. "It could have gone a lot worse, they did at least agree to work with you after all."

Lelouch dropped the hand to glare at her balefully. "My enemy, THEIR enemy is an empire that spans a third of the globe and they just chose to argue with me about deploying THREE FUCKING KNIGHTMARES!." Lelouch paused and chuckled bitterly. "The sad thing," he said nodding at Kallen,"is that this group is actually considered to be disciplined for a resistance group."

Kallen bristled in defense of her friends. "Hey, we get the job done don't we," she demanded. She flushed under the withering look Lelouch directed at her.

"I'm very sure we've had this conversation before," Lelouch said dryly. "Still, I suppose this is a start, the others will trust me more once we have some successes under our belt."

Kallen nodded but decided she had a question she needed answered. "Lelouch, why such an elaborate plan for a simple operation? It sort of seemed like you just randomly tacked stuff on and it was confusing."

Lelouch gave her a cherubic smile. "Only an idiot expects things to go exactly as planned. One of the things my brother Schneizel drummed into my head during my youth in Pendragon was that given the luxury of time to plan, one must create a plan, a fallback and an ace in the hole. Since Milly and I are the only ones that will be headed directly into the line of fire, it seemed prudent to maximize our chances of a clean escape."

"Lelouch-sama, I still believe you should use me and not Miss Ashford as the driver for this. It would enhance your chance for escape should things fall apart."

Lelouch turned a fond smile on Sayoko. "I do appreciate the offer Sayoko but the point is the Brittanians proving their dedication. While only Oghi and Kallen know who I am, everyone else knows that Milly is Brittanian and she'll need to prove herself. Otherwise, you're right, I would use you."

Sayoko bowed and said nothing but her eyes showed her unhappiness with the situation. She'd sworn her service to Lelouch and she was very fond of Milly from her time as an Ashford servant. It troubled her that they were both headed into danger and she couldn't do anything about it.

Yawning Lelouch glanced at the clock and cursed, he'd never expected things to run this late. "It seems we're running behind tonight and most of us have school very soon. If you want Kallen, Sayoko can prepare a guest room for you, would save you the trip home then right back to school."

Kallen regarded the two suspiciously but relented in the end. "I suppose that makes sense but don't get any ideas. I'm only doing this because I'd only get maybe a hour or two of sleep otherwise."

Lelouch grinned before he stood up and donned his mask. "Of course not," Zero said. "After all, what sort of rumors will fly after you're seen exiting the student council building in the morning for school." Ignoring the rather interesting curses Kallen was growling at him under her breath, Zero lead the group to the elevator leading to the student council building. "I suspect that we won't have much in the way of class tomorrow Kallen and I have a new toy to show you I think you'll like."

Kallen stopped snarling at Lelouch and looked up at Zero. "Toy? I'm not a kid Zero."

Zero laughed as the elevator doors slid closed. "Not that sort of toy Q-1. Trust me, I think you'll like it and it will help you prepare for.. well tomorrow I suppose given what time it is. We have a busy day ahead of us."

* * *

_In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable._

_Dwight D. Eisenhower_

* * *

AN

ARGHHH, the chapter really got away from me, I planned on doing the rescue here but things just kept happening. It's really frustrating but showing Lelouch having real issues with not using his geass to simply command them to obey took a lot longer then I thought. Still, it's finally out-of-the-way. YAY! o7


	4. Showtime!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

* * *

As usual, unbeta'd until Dragon gets around to it. :D

AN

Check it out, it's even early!

* * *

_The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!_

_George S. Patton_

* * *

The normal morning routine was a bit off as Kallen joined Lelouch and Nunnally for breakfast. Unable to lie to his sister, Lelouch stuck to a simple truth and told Nunnally that Kallen had been very busy the night before and it had been easier for her to stay in the guest room rather than go home. The rather knowing smile Nunnally gave him and Kallen caused Lelouch to roll his eyes as Kallen flushed red again. Still, Nunnally was nothing but diplomatic and said nothing about the obvious holes in her brother's story. Sayoko's colorful descriptions of her brother's life on campus had worried Nunnally that he would never settle down with just one girl and at least this one seemed nice.

Having a fairly good idea of what Nunnally was thinking, Lelouch glared at Sayoko with a promise of future retribution. He was aware of what she told Nunnally but since she was telling the truth as she saw it, he hadn't ever said anything and it seemed that had now come back to bite him in the ass.

Sayoko for her part took notice of Lelouch's glare but it only served to amuse her. She couldn't help the small smile she had as she carried out her normal morning duties but she did notice that it seemed to further irritate Lelouch. It was funny to watch the normally composed boy become irritated at such a small thing.

Noting the time, Lelouch dragged Kallen after him as he escaped his sister and maid to go to school ignoring Kallen's protests until after they exited the student council building. Letting go of her hand, Lelouch sighed and slumped against the nearby wall and began playing a mental game of chess to assume his normal school demeanor.

Kallen watched him curiously, she had a feeling she'd missed something at breakfast and she wondered what Lelouch was doing now. When he straightened up and transitioned into the boy she knew at school, Kallen followed along towards the school building. "Lelouch," she asked. "What was that anyway?"

Lelouch groaned in irritation, his school mask slipping slightly at the reminder. "Sayoko has somehow come to the conclusion that I'm a heart-breaker on campus," he explained. "She tells Nunnally about my day when she is giving Nunnally her bath and apparently Nunnally thinks I've finally chosen one girl to 'settle down' with."

Kallen blinked. "Wait, what? There was nothing said, how the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

"When you know someone very well, a lot can be said with just a look or a smile," Lelouch said dryly. "Congratulations by the way, apparently my sister approves of you."

Kallen resisted the urge to simply strangle Lelouch, though it was a close battle. "T-that's not right," she sputtered indignant. "Why the hell would I want a guy like you anyway? I'll set her straight at the council meeting."

Lelouch rolled his eyes, fortunately since he was walking ahead of Kallen she didn't see it. "Won't help," he said dryly. "Nunnally doesn't seem like it, but she's possible even more stubborn than I am. Anything you say to her to deny it, she'll simply take as you trying to hide it from her."

"That sucks," Kallen pouted. "It's bad enough the rumors at school but for your sister to think that, I almost feel like I want to go cry."

"If you think it will help, go right ahead but I doubt it," he responded his tone still wry. "Oh, and since we're at school, aren't you suppose to be ill or unwell," he reminded her.

Cursing under her breath Kallen immediately slumped her posture and assumed her school act. "I hate this," she muttered to Lelouch. "I truly wish it wasn't necessary."

Lelouch, fully into his courteous student act, slowed down and offered Kallen his arm. "Miss Stadfeld," he announced for the students near them. "Allow me to help you." Lowering his voice so only she could hear it. "Sooner or later we won't have to act these roles but for now, it's what keeps us safe. It's embarrassing but being thought of as a couple further deflects suspicion from either of us. I'm not suggesting that we act as a couple, just simply do nothing to disprove the rumors."

Sighing and once again resisting the urge to punch him for being right, she took the offered arm. "Just remember," she hissed back. "This is only and act, I do not actually like you."

"I don't know," Lelouch said with a charming smile. "You're kinda growing on me and your school girl act is just adorable." Being in public, Kallen could only give him a pale smile in return of the jab but her eyes promised that this wasn't over.

True to Lelouch's prediction, classes were canceled for the day. After a wasted two hours listening to a pointless and propaganda laden eulogy with the rest of the students, Lelouch headed back to the student council building only to run into Shirley and Rivalz.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked when he released they wanted to talk to him. True to form, Shirley shrank back from what was probably another attempt to ask him out but Rivalz had other things on his mind.

"So, no class today," he told Lelouch brightly. "Seems a shame to waste it, I've got a few games set up if you're interested."

Shirley butted into the conversation. "Don't you dare go gambling," she demanded with a glare at the boys causing Rivalz to cringe defensively.

"She's right," Lelouch said. "I've found a different game."

"Hey, let me in on it," Rivalz pouted.

"Sorry," Lelouch said with a smile. "I don't think it's your sort of game. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spend the free day with my sister."

Walking off with a wave, Lelouch mentally sighed. _Kallen had a point to an extent, this act at school is so very tiring. Speaking of the red-headed devil, looks like she's headed to the council building._ Picking up he pace a bit to catch up, he slowed to match her pace once he came even with her. "Odd, I was just thinking about you," he teased.

While her normal façade held, her eyes darted to him loaded with malice. "It seems that it was noticed I came from the student council building this morning," she hissed him. "Apparently now the rumor is that we're engaged because I'm carrying your lovechild."

Lelouch choked and missed a step before falling back into place with her. "You're joking," he whispered back astounded by the school rumor mill. "That's a hell of a stretch even for the usual school gossip."

Somewhat mollified by Lelouch's obvious surprise, she'd half expected him to have started the rumor, Kallen muttered back gravely. "Completely serious. About half the girls I know came up to ask me when I was due and if my illness would affect the baby. The others all came to curse me for taking 'their prince' away. If only they really knew right?"

Muttering under his breath about the general stupidity of a high school students in general, Lelouch lead Kallen into the council building and then downstairs. Opening up a door a the end of a short branching hallway, Lelouch waved at Kallen to enter. "This is one of the things I wanted to show you today," he said with a wave of his arm.

Kallen gazed over the spacious gym and noted that the equipment all seemed to be in almost factory fresh condition. "Not that I'm complaining, but why did you want to show me a gym?"

Lelouch closed the door and leaned back against it. "This is a private gym, only student council members can use it, but the only member that actually works out is Shirley and she prefers to do that with the rest of the swim team. Your act for school keeps you from exercising but here, you don't have to pretend and since you are a knightmare pilot, keeping fit is a requirement right?"

Kallen wandered around and ran her fingers along some of the equipment. "This is actually pretty thoughtful," she accused Lelouch. "What's the catch?"

Lelouch smiled at her suspicion. "Not much of one, you'll have to share the gym with me from time to time, other than that, nothing."

Kallen snorted in disbelief. "You, in a gym? Even I've heard about your complete unwillingness to physically exert yourself, it's practically school legend."

Lelouch sighed and explained. "I've come to the conclusion, no matter how reluctantly, that if I'm going to be a truly effective commander, I'll need to increase my physical skills as well. I don't intend on being forced to fight myself, the commanders role is to lead but there is no telling what would happen on the battlefield. I wouldn't want to lose because I was unable to defend myself and lost control of the battle."

"That makes a great deal of sense," Kallen admitted grudgingly. "I don't think I've ever been on an op that actually went according to plan. I think that's why I'm actually willing to trust you somewhat. When you took command in Shinjuku, when circumstances changed you were able to flex from whatever plans you had and react to give us the win. I've only seen that with my older brother before."

Noting that for the moment Kallen had her defenses down, Lelouch decided to extend a peace-offering. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about the rumors at school. I didn't think they would be that bad and I'm also sorry about teasing you when you couldn't respond without blowing your cover."

Kallen shook her head and blew one of the bangs out of her face. "Don't worry about it. You were right, it enhances our covers but sometimes the sheer stupidity of those kids really irritates me. Getting back on track, you said this was one of the things you wanted to show me."

Standing up from the door, Lelouch opened it and waved Kallen through. "We're headed to the facility so I need to change, if you'll wait for me at the elevator?" Getting a nod from Kallen before she left, Lelouch headed to his room and pulled out the briefcase stashed under the bed containing Zero's uniform. Quickly changing into the clothes, he paused at the mask again and studied it. "So, here we go again," he murmured as he slid the mask in place.

Making his way towards the elevator, Zero noticed that his movements were far more brisk and confident when wearing the uniform and mask. _I wonder if it's just not having to hide myself or if it's something deeper. I'm not sure why but I'm comfortable when I wear this._

Arriving at the elevator, he motioned Kallen ahead of him then punched in the code for the lower levels allowing Kallen to see it. "I know you caught that Kallen," Zero said calmly. "It is beneficial that you have access to either level at will."

Kallen nodded but wondered how the hell Lelouch had caught her watching. No, she corrected herself, Zero had. The was something different about the way Lelouch carried himself when he was Zero and putting some separation between the two helped her to gloss over the fact that Lelouch was a Brittanian Prince. That fact still worried her, Lelouch was extremely crafty and could be simply playing her and her friends but he'd been right when he'd asked if she cared if it got her what she wanted. _I wonder if this is what they mean by 'making a deal with the devil?'_

Arriving at the knightmare facility, Kallen had to hurry to keep up as Zero seemed to flow across the floor towards a set of doors. Following as he passed through, her eyes widened at the contents of the room. "L-Zero," she managed to stammer almost forgetting to call him Zero. "Are those what I think they are?"

The masked figure of Zero turned towards her and gave a small bow. "If you think that is a set of Brittanian knightmare simulators, then yes, they are what you think they are."

Plopping down in one of the seats, Kallen powered it up and watched in amazement as the various training packages popped up. "These have the basic and advance knightmare courses on them," she breathed in disbelief. "How the hell did you get these?"

Zero considered his words carefully given the current location. "My alter-ego had a habit of gambling with the nobles in the area. He had to acquire these slowly over the past few years as well as amassing a large amount of money to fund operations. There are only seven simulators but it is possible to wirelessly link the Sutherlands into the system via their on-board computers."

"This is great," Kallen gushed turning back in the chair to look at Zero. "It was really hard to practice when all we had was the Glasgow."

"One of the major advantages Brittania has over the Japanese resistances is that even green garrison troops are well-trained. I intend to provide our army with similar training. Now, before you get all buried in that, I would suggest you gather the members of the operation tomorrow and run them through at least the basic course, if not the advanced as well."

Regretfully standing up and moving away from her new plaything, Kallen nodded and headed for the exit. "What will you be doing?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Hitting the gym," Zero said with disgust clear in his voice. "Might as well start working on improving my least developed skill set now."

Kallen snickered and skipped out the door. She had people to round-up and a really cool new toy to play with. The fact that Lelouch would be doing something hated while she got to do something fun was just icing on the cake.

* * *

Following an afternoon from hell, from his perspective anyway, Lelouch stuffed his aching body back into his uniform and headed downstairs to review his plans for the next day. Carefully studying the holographic tactical map another plan began to form in his head. Expanding the map to show the entire Tokyo settlement, he mentally calculated response times for nearby bases and routes of advance. Finally deciding that his new plan was in fact feasible and realistic, he keyed the intercom and called for the command staff to gather.

Once everyone was gathered, he expanded the map again and began to explain his plan. "As you know, tomorrow we intend to free Suzaku Kururugi from his unjust imprisonment and trial. I've reviewed the plans this afternoon and found them to be satisfactory but there is more we can do." Ignoring the murmurs from the assembled members, he highlighted a base near the edge of the map. "When we achieve our goals here," he said highlighting the highway he planned to intercept the Margrave's convoy, "the Brittanians will undoubtedly summon reinforcements. The most obvious and tactically sound source of those reinforcements is this base here. According to our intelligence, the commander of the base, one Colonel Robert Walker, is a complete fool promoted solely on the basis of his family connections. Given a chance to 'rescue' the interim Viceroy, he will most likely strip his garrison and send them after our rescue operation." Zero paused and waited for the inevitable question, planning on how to best reveal what he wanted them to do.

Following several minutes of quiet chatter among the staff, Oghi was selected as the one to ask. "Zero, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Zero grinned triumphantly behind his mask. There that was the question, the one that would cement his new army to him, the one that would truly launch his plans forward. "There are now 21 knightmares in the hanger," he said by way of response. "Currently we plan to use only three. What good I ask you does holding the remaining 18 here do for us?" Not letting them have time to answer, he continued to build on his momentum. "Nothing! Sitting here they do nothing. I think we can find a better use for them. Tomorrow after we hit the convoy and Walker sends his troops out, we are going to destroy that base!"

Ignoring shouts from several members questioning his sanity, Zero held up his hand and spoke over the clamor. "No, it is not crazy, thank you Tamaki. It is a simple military objective. Are you telling me you can't do that even with 18 knightmares?"

A member of the group Kallen had named for him called Kent Sugiyama spoke up for the group. "Attacking bases is dangerous, even with knightmares. We could lose more than we gained."

Zero slammed his hand on the table with a resounding clack. "Of course it's dangerous, this is war! Did you think that you could liberate Japan without taking risks? I have a plan to reduce those risks but right now I'm questioning your courage. All of you, is the liberation of Japan worth the cost of your life?"

Kallen was the first to respond with a loud "yes," followed slowly by the other members. In the end, even Tamaki spoke up saying that yes, liberation was worth his life.

"Good," Zero said. "Now, as I was saying, I have a plan." Zooming the tactical map on the base itself, He highlighted a wooded hill located about a kilometer outside the base's perimeter. "Tonight, everyone not assigned to the rescue operation is to move here and camouflage yourself on the hill preferably on the backside so that the base can't see you. Set scouts with a line of sight to the base and tomorrow when the troops leave wait ten minutes then hit the base hard. Destroy everything you can't take with you. Special mention to this hanger here," he said pointing out a spot on the map. "This right here is from official records the knightmare and base armory. I'm not sure why they are located in the same building and it will undoubtedly be heavily guarded even with most of the garrison gone. Hit them hard and get out."

Everyone stared at the map as they digested Zero's words. "Can we really do this?" Oghi asked uncertainly. It's a Brittanian military base, not even the JLF have managed to destroy one."

Zero snorted in disgust. "The JLF simply sit in their stronghold and make propaganda broadcasts, I find you comparing yourself to them to be insulting. You all fight, have been in the streets resisting the occupation with all you have. There is no comparison, you are better than the JLF." _Well, you will be once we get a training program rolling,_ Zero mentally added.

Seeing everyone at the table puff up with pride at his words and ignoring the sardonic smirk on Sayoko's face, of all the people at the table, only she seemed to realize what he was up to, Zero picked up the first part of Oghi's question. "As for if we can do this, yes we can. If Walker strips his garrison like I expect he will, then it should be fairly simple. Don't confuse that with easy, you will be in danger, you will be fighting for your lives but for once, you will have the tactical advantage while fighting Brittania."

Studying the map, Kallen was the first member to bring up a valid question. "Why wait ten minutes? I understand having to wait until the garrison can't return right on top of us but you seemed specific about the ten minutes."

Zero zoomed the map out and circled the bases surrounding Tokyo. "Ten minutes gives the garrisons of all these bases time to get moving towards our rescue operation. Once we hit Fort Owain, all the troops sent as response to our attack on the Margrave's convoy will be routed to Owain. The chaos and confusion should add to the window we have to attack the base but I want you gone 15 minutes from the time your attack begins. That will give you at least five minutes, hopefully more to get clear."

After further hashing the plan out with the command group for another hour or so, Zero drew the meeting to its conclusion. "Because I'm needed for the rescue operation, I'm appointing Oghi as the commander of the Owain attack. He was your leader before I arrived and I have every confidence that he can get this job done." Turning to face Oghi directly, Zero addressed the concerns he knew the man was feeling. "Oghi, don't worry about doing a perfect job. It just doesn't exist on the battlefield. Your role is watch the time and send units to support anyone hitting heavy resistance."

Standing up from the chair he'd taken during the meeting, Zero addressed everyone present. "Remember, focus your efforts, if you run into a knightmare, retreat and call in support then take it down together. Make sure you tell your troops that as well. There is no heroism in a stupid and preventable death. For now, there are still several hours until you need to leave, you can do what you wish but Kallen here knows how to hook the Sutherlands into the training sims. I would recommend training in knightmare combat."

Taking his leave, Zero headed upstairs and stripping off the mask became a very tired and stressed Lelouch once more. Making his way to the bathroom he stripped off Zero's uniform and soaked in the tub to relax the muscles he'd hurt with his trip to the gym. He barely bothered to blink when Sayoko entered the room and stood near the side of the tub.

"Sayoko," he said tiredly. "Did you need something or were you going to tease me about inflating their egos so they would actually get off their asses and do something?"

Sayoko managed to somehow giggle while maintaining her professionally neutral face. "Lelouch-sama, I do not belong to the resistance group and was not assigned to the rescue operation. Do you have orders for me?"

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at that. "I had assumed you would be joining the raid on the base but you do have a point. May I ask why you didn't just join the raid?"

Sayoko gave her liege a bow. "My service is pledged to you Lelouch-sama. I will continue in my normal duties unless ordered otherwise by you."

"I see," Lelouch mused. "What if I ordered you to assassinate someone or to strip and join me in the tub?"

"Then the target will die, Lelouch-sama. As for the other, I would be happy to take care of your needs, my services are yours."

"N-no," Lelouch sputtered when she reached back to undue her apron. "I was just curious about your response to morally questionable actions. I don't need you to actually strip or join me in the bath."

Sayoko tilted her head in question. "Lelouch-sama, for a kunoichi bound to a liege, there is no greater honor than to see to her master's commands without question. There is no morality attached to the actions."

"That is an amazing pragmatic view of things," Lelouch said after he finally wrapped his brain around the meaning of her words. "Very well then, tomorrow, if you are able to do so without getting caught or killed, assassinate Walker and his command staff the moment Oghi launches his attack. Let me be clear though, I value your life and services far more than I want the fool dead. In the future unless specifically ordered, your priority will be your safety, then your mission."

Sayoko gave Lelouch another shallow bow as her lips curved into a small smile. "And that Lelouch-sama is why I pledged my service to you and you alone." Having received her orders she turned and glided out of the bathroom.

Groaning, Lelouch let his head drop back against the edge of the tub and wondered if the day was going to hold any other surprises for him. Granted the last surprise had been good in a rather odd way but he was tired and his muscles hurt. At this point, he just wanted to tuck Nunnally in for the night and go to bed himself.

* * *

Morning came a bit earlier then Lelouch would have liked but after a grumpy start he found himself at breakfast with Nunnally as normal. The quiet small talk with his sister relaxed him even when she questioned him about Kallen. Deflecting her inquires into exactly what his relationship was with the girl, he was amused to be on the end of some gentle teasing from his sister.

As the meal finished and Lelouch and Nunnally sat enjoying their tea, Sayoko approached and bowed. Master Lelouch, Mistress Nunnally I will be taking the rest of the morning and the afternoon off for some personal business. I will return in time for your bath Mistress Nunnally."

"Oh, that's alright," Nunnally protested. "If you need more time, I can skip a bath tonight since there is no school tomorrow."

"Oh, no Mistress Nunnally, my errands shouldn't take that long and I quite enjoy our chats while you bathe."

Lelouch smiled at Sayoko to add the touch of warmth to his voice Nunnally would hear. "Thank you for informing us Sayoko. Please be safe during your errands, life here would be very different without you." He made sure to stress the words 'be safe' as hard as he dared with Nunnally present. Sayoko merely smiled at him as she bowed before leaving.

"Onii-sama," Nunnally questioned Lelouch after Sayoko's departure. "Why did you tell her to be safe? She's just running errands right?"

Lelouch hedged his words very carefully. "Well, Sayoko is an Eleven and there are Brittanians that might harm her if they caught her distracted by her errands. You know how focused on things she can get."

"Oh, that's terrible," Nunnally said distressed at the thought of her maid and friend being hurt. "I certainly hope she pays attention to what she's doing then."

"You and me both," Lelouch said reaching over to hold Nunnally's hand. "Still, Sayoko is very capable, she'll be alright. That reminds me, I have business to deal with in the city today and won't be home till fairly late, with Sayoko gone would you like me to get Shirley or Rivalz to keep you company?"

Nunnally considered it for a moment. "No, I'll be alright Onii-sama. I just wish you had a different way to make money. I know how expensive it must be for my needs so I won't complain at how you pay for things but sometimes I really hate this chair."

Lelouch was alarmed a Nunnally's train of thought. "No, it's not your fault Nunnally," he said desperately. "You didn't ask to be blinded or to be stuck in a wheelchair. Besides, it is an older brothers duty to take care of his cute little sister and I for one am honored that you put up with me as your brother."

Nunnally laughed, dragged out of her little gloom by Lelouch's absurd comment. "Nonsense Onii-sama," she chided him gently. "You're possibly the best big brother a girl could ever ask for."

Lelouch squeezed her hand. "Only possibly? I must be slipping."

Nunnally reached up with her other hand and laid it against Lelouch's face. "Yes, sometimes I just don't know why I put up with you."

With a very kind smile, Lelouch leaned forward and place a kiss on the top of Nunnally's head. "So little princess," he whispered. "I need to get ready to go soon, would you like me to push you to your room or somewhere else?"

Nunnally reached up with the hand Lelouch had released and wrapped her arms around Lelouch's neck in a hug. "No, I'll be alright here for now. You go do what you need to and be careful Onii-sama."

Ruffling her hair Lelouch left the room only to run into Kallen standing just outside the room in the hallway. Motioning her to be silent, Lelouch lead the way back to his room. Once safely inside, he turned to Kallen with a bit of anger showing in his features. "How much of that did you see," he demanded. "I know that I said you should have free access but what if Nunnally had heard you?"

"Relax," Kallen said unconcerned. "I saw most of that but it was really very sweet. Sometimes dealing with you I forget that you're actually a real human being. It's nice to really know that there is something you truly care about. As to what to say if Nunnally caught me, well she already thinks we're in a relationship, so not really a problem."

Lelouch massaged his temples to curb the rising headache. "I care about more than just Nunnally but I was trained from an early age that showing weakness was to invite attacks against those weaknesses. The thing is that even from an early age, I established that picking on Nunnally would result in me retaliating tenfold, even the dumbest of my relatives learned in a hurry to leave her alone. Now that I'm older, the rules have changed somewhat. Hurt her and die."

Kallen's lips curved into a small grin. "Suddenly you make a lot more sense Lelouch. I know that you were telling me the truth about why you hate the Empire but now I really understand. Hurt her and die, you said and the Emperor allowed her to be hurt so you intend to kill him. You're much simpler then I thought."

"I'm not a fan of being analyzed," Lelouch muttered back. "I'm also more complicated than just that."

"Oh undoubtedly," Kallen replied with that same infuriating grin. "Still, it resolves the issue I had over you possibly betraying us. In your own way, you're even more dedicated to this fight than we are aren't you?"

"Yes," Lelouch responded curtly. "Now, were you up here for a reason or was it just to annoy me?"

Kallen took Lelouch's temper in stride, she had just provoked him into revealing more about himself then he'd probably intended. "Yes, I came up to report that everything is ready for the rescue mission. We're pretty much just waiting on you to get started."

"Alright," Lelouch said with a nod. "I need to get into uniform, I'll be right down. Oh, wait, when you get down there, key your knightmare's radio into the frequency that Ohgi is using and relay it to my radio." Getting a curious look for Kallen he explained. "I want to be able to hear what's happening there. My plan, my orders, my responsibility."

Kallen turned and left with a better understanding of what drove Lelouch and the knowledge that though he viewed her and her friends as assets or even game pieces, he didn't view them as expendable, that he truly cared if they lived or died. Getting in the elevator, she wondered what sort of environment would cause a boy who cared as much as Lelouch did to bury those feelings.

Thoroughly disgruntled, Lelouch hurriedly donned his uniform and pulled on the mask as he headed to the elevator himself. Kallen had caught him off-guard and he had the feeling he'd given away far more than he liked in the conversation. The temptation to geass you to just forget it was there but he mentally shoved it away. In the long run, Kallen understanding his reasons for hating the Empire actually worked in his favor but how she'd learned annoyed him. He snorted as he realized that part of himself still followed his father's rule of weakness being intolerable.

Arriving downstairs, he crossed over to the car redone to resemble Clovis's official vehicle. Seeing a nervous looking Milly standing there, he climbed into passenger seat forcing her to get in the other side. Now that they were out of the line of sight of the others, he reached out and squeezed Milly's hand. "It will be alright Milly, I won't let anything happen to you but you need to use that digital face-mask Sayoko gave you now. Unless you want to become Area 11's second most wanted after me of course," he finished in a joking tone hoping to dispel some of Milly's nervousness.

Attaching the mask, Milly turned from an attractive blonde to a very plain brunette. Looking at the change, Zero was fairly amazed and wondered exactly where the hell Sayoko had gotten it from. Giving her a thumbs up, Zero keyed his mic. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

The first part of the plan worked perfectly, no one stopped them as they drove up the highway towards the prisoner convoy. The timing was perfect as well, the convoy stopping almost exactly where Zero had planned it. Terrified almost out of her mind as she drove towards the stopped convoy, Milly kept Lelouch's promise that he wouldn't let anything happen to her in the forefront of her mind to avoid losing her nerve. Pulling to a stop at the arranged distance, Milly tensed when loudspeaker boomed.

"You dare to defile his Highness's transport? Get out now!"

In response, the Brittanian flag at the front of the transport flared and burnt away revealing Zero to the public. Ignoring the sounds of surprise and enjoying the Margrave's reaction, Zero spoke. "I am.. ZERO!"

In the crowd and all over the former Japan, the people watching all stared in shock at such a blatant defiance of the Interim Viceroy. What this Zero was doing was almost beyond comprehension, what did he hope to accomplish with his actions.

Pulling out a pistol, Margrave Jeremiah smirked at the masked man. "Zero you say? It's too bad your little show ends here and now." Firing his pistol signaled the airborne knightmares and the four Sutherlands dropped and surrounded the car. "Now, you will remove that mask or I will pry it from your corpse."

Zero reached for his mask then raised his hand and snapped his fingers signaling Milly to hit the switch revealing the rear of the vehicle. The Margrave and his supporters in the military blanched as the recognized the canister of gas Clovis had them searching for in Shinjuku. From the rear position of the convoy Viletta opened her cockpit and yelled at her superior.

"Lord Jeremiah, that's the poison gas capsule!"

Keying his mic unobtrusively Zero spoke to Kallen. "Q-1, Sutherland with the woman is now disable only, take the shot yourself at the time."

"Roger Zero, Disable only on that target."

Now shaking in a combination of fear and outrage, Jeremiah cursed as he realized that Zero had just taken the entire crowd hostage without any but a select few even being aware. Any doubts that this was the man responsible for the loss in Shinjuku were gone and Jeremiah realized that this was probably Prince Clovis's assassin as well. Raising his pistol, he prepared to kill Zero before a dry laugh made him stop.

"Please Margrave, shoot me. I think you know what happens then," Zero taunted.

Lowering his weapon, Jeremiah snarled. "Very well, your demands?"

"An exchange, this canister for Suzaku Kururugi," Zero replied calmly.

"That's absurd," the Margrave yelled. "This man is charged with high treason for the murder of Prince Clovis, I can not release him."

"No," Zero said with a dry laugh that sent chills down Jeremiah's spine. "You are mistaken, Kururugi isn't the murderer." Spotting a blond man holding a camera, he turned to face it directly. "The man who killed Clovis is ME! After arranging for him to order the ceasefire, I would have left him alive but he answered a question wrong. What question you ask? I asked how he justified killing thousands of civilians and he told me that they were 'only elevens.' As thus he died for his sins.

Ignoring the gasps of shock from the crowd, Zero smiled under his mask. "Will you be like that Margrave? For a single Eleven, you'll save the lives of many of your precious Brittanians. It certainly doesn't seem like a bad deal for you."

Enraged almost beyond words, Jeremiah roared in outrage. "Killed the Prince! We will make you pay!"

As the Sutherlands surrounding him raised their weapons, Zero regarded them calmly. "Are you so sure you want to do this, I would hate for the public to know about Clovis's project Orange." Enjoying the look of confusion on the Margrave's face, Zero tapped his foot on the roof letting Milly know to drive forward slowly. "If I die, not only does everyone here die as well, but the secret goes public and I'm sure that the man responsible for blackening the Royal family name through stupidity would never have the titles stripped from his family."

Jeremiah blanched from the threat, more so because it was extremely likely. Realizing he was playing a much more dangerous game then he had believe, he wondered what the hell Clovis's project Orange had been. Realizing that if he released the prisoner, he could take the gas canister and then arrest Zero and his accomplice, Jeremiah turned and ordered the guards to let Kururugi go. Ignoring the protests by the guards and Viletta, he repeated the order while making hand-signs behind his back telling Viletta and the other Pure-bloods to be ready to move as soon as the gas was secure. Realizing that he didn't actually intend to let the prisoner go, Viletta stopped protesting and closed herself back into her Sutherland.

While he waited for the man to come to a decision, Zero considered using his geass on the man but was still reluctant to rely on it. For now it was still his backup plan. Staring at the man, Zero wondered why the Margrave seemed so familiar to him but pushed those thoughts aside as Suzaku was released by the guards. Moving forward to meet his old friend, Zero checked the ground for a certain mark and smiled behind his mask. After watching Suzaku's collar shock him after he tried to speak, Zero motioned for him to remain silent. "As I thought, they weren't about to let you speak in your defense. What great justice the Brittanians have."

Milly made her way up to stand by Zero and he nodded to her as he pulled out a remote and pressed the button releasing clouds of smoke from the gas canister. At the prearranged signal, Kallen and her two partners used their 40 mm sniper rifles to destroy the three closest Sutherlands to Zero. Grabbing Milly and Suzaku and running to the side of the bridge, Zero used his body to throw the three of them over the edge as the next three Sutherlands were destroyed.

Below the highway, a resistance member named Gorou activated his industrial frame and launched a net under the falling threesome. Elated at the success, he quickly dismounted the frame and ran to car he'd placed nearby and racing over to where Zero was waiting.

Up above, Kallen after ordering her partners to target the Margrave's knightmare was focusing on her shot, mindful of Zero's orders to simply disable this one. She wondered why, it was possible that this was his military source but if she was, she was a very good actress given how upset she seemed at letting Suzaku go. Seeing the Margrave's knightmare drop from the corner of her eye she took the shot and was elated when it ripped the leg right off the targeted knightmare. Ordering the others of her team to head to the rendezvous point she shook her head as she realized they'd beaten the Brittanians in combat again. All because of a Brittanian prince seeking revenge, she thought her mood souring. Still, at least he was on their side, she shuddered to think of that mind as an enemy.

Following a very unsatisfying meeting with Suzaku, the stubborn idiot. Really, trying to reform the Brittanian Empire from within as a Number? How did he even think that was possible? Zero sunk back in the seat of the car ignoring the way Milly was clinging to him and crying as he listened to the com chatter from Owain raid. Not liking some of what he was hearing, Zero keyed his mic. "Q-1, Zero."

"Q-1 here," Kallen responded quickly.

"I'm assuming you're listening to P-1's coms?"

"Yes"

"Patch me through to P-1 through your system." Visualizing a map of the area Oghi was in his head, he worked on a plan to get the group clear.

"Zero, this is P-1. I'm glad to hear from you, I'm not sure what to do now."

"Calm down P-1," Zero reprimanded Oghi gently. "Panic will kill you and those around you faster than anything else. Don't worry, I've got a plan. Have your team move to map grid H-9 and use the underground Tunnels there. Q-1, still here?"

"Yes, I''m here," Kallen responded.

"Move your team to Grid H-10 and take those choppers down at range. You should arrive about the same time P-1 does. Once they go down, head to grid G-11 and use the underground entrance there to get clear. Do not stick around and engage, if you do, you will be trapped by inbound Brittanian reinforcements."

"Copy, H-10, kill flies, bug out. G-11 down the hole and clear."

Mentally sorting through that, Zero snorted. Was an interesting way of condensing his orders but at least she understood. "Sounds right, Q-1, P-1, I'll be monitoring coms if needed. Zero out."

Sitting forward he tapped Gorou on the shoulder to get his attention. "Gorou, find an entrance to the underground and start moving us back to the base."

The driver nodded with a huge grin. "Got it Zero-sama. We sure showed them today didn't we?"

Zero sat back again and ran a gloved hand through Milly's hair to soothe the girl. It was fortunate that she wouldn't have to do field operations again, but no one was going to say anything to her about being Brittanian after she'd been the one on the bridge with Zero.

Staring out the window as the car headed underground, all Zero wanted to do was get back, check the results of the other operation and then go relax some. Hopefully nothing out of the ordinary would be waiting to annoy him.

* * *

_Better to fight for something than live for nothing._

_George S. Patton_

* * *

AN

Well, if you know the anime, you know he doesn't exactly get that last hope of his. I actually managed to sit down and write all of this tonight in one sitting.


	5. Aftermath and Debriefing

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

Hmm, at this point, I think Dragon might be looking for a way to stab me to death via internet but she's still an awesome Beta.

* * *

**An**

**I think I'm going to push this story up over 40k words before I begin alternating with CF again. The reason for this is that it will allow me to evaluate the reader response better, CF didn't really start getting reviews and fav/follows until it hit over the 40k mark. Hmm, I think that's enough out for me for the moment but I would like to thank those that have already reviewed or fav/followed the story. I truly do appreciate the support. o7**

Odd note, Open office likes to turn on numbering and bullets if I use C.C. at the beginning of a sentence. o7

* * *

"_Immortality - a fate worse than death."_

_Edgar A. Shoaff_

* * *

Arriving back at what he joking referred to as the 'lair' in his head, Zero dragged a still crying Milly to his office and laid her out on the couch. Grabbing the blanket he kept stashed behind it, he covered her up and taking his gloves off ran a hand through her hair soothingly. Realizing that this was something for Lelouch, not Zero, he closed the door and locked it. Sliding the mask off, he knelt by Milly's head. "Shh, it's alright," he whispered as he reached up to console her again. "You did really well and I can promise you that you won't have to do it again, ok?"

Milly's sobbing slowed and she looked up hopefully. "Really?" She asked in unsteady voice. "I did alright then?"

Lelouch smiled at his old friend comfortingly. "Yes, you did great. Like I said in the car, no one can doubt your commitment since you placed yourself in danger and since you've 'proven' yourself to them, I can have you start doing the things your good at."

Milly gave a shaky laugh at that and gave him a quivering grin. "That's good, I was really scared," she admitted.

Lelouch snorted at that. "So was I," he said back. "As long as you don't let it paralyze you, fear is a very good motivator. Not pleasant by any means but still effective."

Milly's laughter sounded more like her normal self and she playfully slapped at his face. "Silly boy, this is why you'll never be a good husband, you're suppose to reassure the girl then have lots of kinky sex to make things better."

Flushing slightly, though relieved that Milly was apparently feeling better, Lelouch picked up the mask and made to put it on until Milly grabbed his hand. Looking at her in confusion, he saw remnants of the fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Milly shifted on the couch uncomfortably before responding. "Well, I know that you have to go back out there and be Zero again, but can my friend Lelouch stay with me for a few more minutes." She paused and added tiredly. "Please?"

Taking a moment to listen to the radio and hearing nothing amiss, Lelouch nodded and put the mask down. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he tensed slightly when Milly wrapped him up in a hug but relaxed when he realized she wasn't up to her normal antics, merely seeking comfort. His earlier thoughts about weakness came to mind and he violently refuted them. _Taking care of my friends and allies when they need me is how I can prove, even to myself that I AM different from my father._

After a few minutes, Milly fell asleep and Lelouch gently pulled her arms from around him and stood up. Seeing that she looked peaceful and comfortable, he pulled the blanket up to her chin and left her to sleep for the moment. Picking up his mask, he pulled it on and felt the mantle of Zero settle over him.

Exiting the office, he found the getaway driver Gorou waiting for him leaning against the wall across the hall. "Zero-sama, will Commander Milly be alright sir?" the man asked. "She seemed a bit shaken up in the car."

Zero regarded him thoughtfully. "Yes, she's sleeping now. She'd never been in such a dangerous situation before but I believe she'll be fine when she wakes. I'm surprised you're concerned, she is Brittanian after all."

Gorou shrugged and looked uneasy. "I don't like Brittanians no," he admitted. "From what I've seen, she doesn't really seem like most that I've met though and she was on the highway facing down knightmares unarmed. There are a couple of rumors about her among the guys, though I think I can cross out the one about her being your mistress. Personally, I think I'll put money on the one that says she's the one funneling the cash and supplies you've given us. Makes her alright in my book."

Grumbling under his mask about stupid resistance fighters being just as bad as high school students at gossiping, Zero decided he may as well set the record straight for the rank and file members. "Some of that is true, this facility belongs to her family but the funds and supplies are for the moment mine. She will be playing a very important support role gathering and analyzing information for us, she isn't a front-line fighter."

Excusing himself and wondering why he'd even bothered to explain things, Zero headed into the main area of the facility to watch as his army rushed about unloading supplies or in a few cases treating injuries. Doing a quick count of the knightmares present, he came up one short and he frowned at the information. He hadn't expected to lose any of his knightmares though he had prepared himself for the possibility. Getting the attention of a nearby resistance member, he passed along orders for the command group to meet in the conference room as soon as they got things settled. Making his way there to wait, he wondered what had gone wrong, and if they were going to try to blame him for the loss. He snorted to himself as he sat down in his chair at the head of the table. _Let them try to blame me, one knightmare for an entire Brittanian base is a very one-sided exchange rate._

It took a while for everyone but the still sleeping Milly to gather but finally everyone was assembled. Looking over the group, he noted that they all seemed excited but the excitement was somewhat subdued. "Welcome back," he said calmly. "Now that we've gathered, we will being doing what the professional militaries call an after action review. In combat, mistakes are always made. The best generals to ever walk the planet still made mistakes in battle. An after action review allows us to go over the mistakes and learn from them so that they don't happen again. Please keep in mind that this is not an exercise in pointing fingers or covering your ass. Without the truth, we can not gain the strength we need to defeat Brittania. Now, to start, we will review the events on the highway."

Quickly running through the events of the rescue, Lelouch found himself at the escape. "So far, everything had gone according to plan but looking back, there are two things that I could have improved. The first is that we wasted time waiting for our driver to get from the industrial frame to the car and then over to us. This was a mistake, a dedicated driver would have cut our escape time in half but it worked out fairly well. The second problem was that we didn't set up an escape route for Kallen and the other two knightmares. In the future, any plans we make should contain multiple escape routes planned out in advance." Nodding at Kallen, Zero praised the girl for her actions. "Kallen did very well getting her group clear without a plan but it would be better if she didn't have to make things up as she went along. Now, does anyone have any questions or comments about this part of our operations?"

After a short period of chatting among themselves, Kallen sat forward in her chair. "I have a question," she said slowly. "Not about the rescue operation directly but what happens if the plan has a mistake, should we just keep following it or what?"

Zero shook his head. "No, initiative is almost always a good thing. If things aren't going according to plan, the ability to find another solution is very important. It doesn't mean you can do whatever you want though. It's very situational. I think a good example occurs during the raid on Fort Owain but I would like to hear what happened there before I say anything." Kallen nodded her acceptance of that and sat back. Zero looked at Oghi. "Alright Oghi, please run us through the events of the base raid."

Oghi sighed and began his story. Things had gone according to plan, the garrison had left in a hurry and he'd lead the attack right at the ten minute mark. An explosion from the command center as he'd attacked had distracted the remaining base personnel and they'd completed their objectives swiftly. The only real sour note at the base was losing a knightmare and it's pilot to the defenses of the base armory.

Zero stopped him at that time. "Was there any indication of a trap before Nobu triggered it?" After a quiet consultation with the other members that were nearby Oghi shook his head no. "Then unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do. This is war," he said tiredly. "The sad fact is that sometimes we **will **lose our people. Anyone that thinks otherwise is deluding themselves. The only thing that we can do is to honor their sacrifices and continue to fight on."

The room was very quiet as everyone seemed to sink into memories of the people who they'd lost in the fight. Everyone in the room knew the truth of Zero's words even if sometimes they tried to deny it even to themselves. Everyone had lost somebody they cared about, seen friends or loved ones die and some of the members had very long lists.

Rousing himself from his memories Zero cleared his throat. "I have something in mind that will help I think but for now, Oghi, please continue."

Oghi continued, explaining the withdrawal and the unexpected helicopter gunships that had arrived before they could get underground. "It didn't seem like a good idea to go underground where they could see it and report it," Oghi said. "Most of the knightmares were loaded down with supplies from the base and the chopper pilots were really good. I wasn't sure what to do before you got on the radio and gave us our orders."

Zero nodded in comprehension. "You were nervous and didn't want to lose what you'd taken from the base and it clouded your judgment." Holding up a hand to forestall any complaints, Zero continued. "I'm not saying this to be critical, it's simply what happened and it's completely understandable. You managed to avoid any critical mistakes and your performance was very good all things considered. That being said, what you should have done was have the knightmares drop the supplies and engage the gunships, then gathered the supplies again and head underground." Seeing Oghi slump in his chair at the criticism, Zero moved to boost his confidence. "It is very easy to lose track of things like that when you are in command Oghi, don't beat yourself up about it, learn from it and move on."

Standing up from his chair, Zero placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Always remember that supplies and equipment can be replaced given time, the true concern is your troops. If you are in command, every action you take should be focused on bringing as many of your soldiers back as possible. Over time, keeping that in mind becomes easier and from that you build up to defeating your enemy. This is why I want everyone, even me, to spend as much time training as possible. We need to build up confidence, discipline and teamwork so that the next time we engage the Brittanians, we destroy them! Now, I believe Kallen asked me about initiative earlier and that there was an example I wished to bring up. When I sent Kallen to take down the helicopters, I gave her where to be, and how to escape but everything in between was her decision. My confidence in her payed off, she cleared the gunships from your tail Oghi and allowed everyone else to get back in one piece. It was very good on the spot planning from Kallen and she rightfully deserves praise for it."

Sitting back in his chair and wondering where he'd pulled some of that from, it wasn't like he had a great deal of combat experience himself, Zero began wrapping things up. "Overall, both operations were a complete success even if Kururugi believes he will somehow change the Brittanian Empire from within." A trace of scorn and derision was evident in Zero's voice but since everyone there agreed with him on the improbability of such a thing happening, no one said anything about it. "Now, before we discuss what we acquired from the base, I have a recruitment goal I would like to announce. I noticed that some of our troops were injured in the fighting, we need some full-time medical staff. Ask around and find out if anyone has such experience. I know that a great many Japanese doctors and nurses were driven out of their jobs after the invasion. A 'Number' in such a position would be against the Brittanian ideals after all. I know that many run underground clinics to care for the Japanese in the slums, find them, offer them positions with us. Many will be unwilling to leave their patients, at least the good ones won't. Offer them funding, supplies and manpower for their clinics but we need them as well. Now, what did we gain from the raid?"

Following a short summary, weapons, spare parts for the knightmares and munitions, Zero brought the meeting to a close. "Does someone have a picture of Nobu?" Zero asked.

An unusually quiet Tamaki raised his hand and pulled out a worn picture. "We took this a few years ago on a camping trip," he said sadly. "I was the one that convinced him to join up and now he's gone."

Zero nodded consolingly. "Follow me," he told the crowd. Leading them out of the room across the main facility towards the elevator, he stopped at the wall in front of it. Pulling out a roll of clear tape he'd snagged from the conference room, he motioned for Tamaki to hand over the picture. Sticking the picture up on the wall, and giving it a brief bow, he turned back to the command group. "Every one of use that falls in our fight against the Empire will have a spot here. A reminder of those we've lost and why we fight. Pass the word to the troops that it is here and that the previously fallen are welcome here as well."

Leaving a stunned group, he crossed back to his office and wondered if they realized why he'd chosen such a large wall. Some of them probably had or would, he mused but then, they were probably the most dedicated of the bunch. Closing the office door behind him, he smiled under his mask when he saw Milly still asleep but laying partially on and off the couch. He whirled around at the sound of the door opening behind him but relaxed when Kallen slid inside and closed the door.

She stood there and watched him calmly for a few moments before she spoke up. "The memorial wall was a nice touch Zero but I can't help wondering how much of it was show and how much was you actually caring."

Zero shifted uncomfortably. "I told you that I care about more than just my sister," he replied. "It's true that the wall is more for our members but there is a reason I placed it where I would see it every time I come down here."

Kallen's expression softened. "A reminder that this isn't a game right?"

Zero scowled behind his mask, Kallen seemed to be able to read him far more than he was comfortable with. "Yes," he confirmed. "A reminder to me that what I do has consequences."

Kallen moved across the office with a slight smile at the sprawled out Milly and perched herself on the edge of the desk. "So tel me great Zero-sama, what do you intend to do now?"

Sitting himself in his chair forcing her to either turn her head or her body to look at him, petty power plays but still worthwhile, Zero sighed. "Asking for yourself or asking for the others?" he inquired politely.

Kallen frowned a bit when she failed to get a rise from him and hopped off the desk to sit in one of the chairs facing it. "Little of both really," she responded. "I'm very curious what you have planned as an encore but the rest all seem to think you're some sort of miracle worker, even Oghi."

Zero grunted and picked up a chess piece from the board setting next to the desk and twirled it through his fingers as he thought. "For tonight, I plan on letting everyone celebrate, then start serious training tomorrow while we wait to see how the Empire responds. Hitting the base and the convoy will seriously stir things up, I'll have to wait and see how it settles before I can really plan anything else."

Kallen tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair idly. "I suppose that makes sense but can't we hit them again? If they're that disorganized it should be pretty easy to get a shot or two in."

"Not really," Zero replied. "The bases will be on high alert for the time being, anything suspicious will probably be shot on sight. I suspect other groups will make some attacks but since they don't have the strength we do, they'll hit soft targets."

Kallen winced. "More civilians?"

"Probably. I was under the impression that you didn't care about that Kallen."

Kallen stopped tapping her fingers and gaze Zero a very direct look. "I thought a lot about what you said, who the true enemy was. Some of the people about to die have it coming for oppressing the Japanese but I suppose most of them are guilty of doing nothing more than trying to make ends meet for their families."

Zero nodded and glanced at the clock, he still had a bit of time before Nunnally went to bed. After the day he'd had, some time with his sister sounded nice. "Kallen, you mind giving me a hand with Milly? She doesn't really wake up well and I'd like to get her upstairs and into a guest room."

Kallen shrugged. "I suppose I could, we both know who'll be doing most of the work."

"Haha," Zero replied getting up. "At least I don't have to act sick at school. How is the baby doing anyway?"

Kallen narrowed her eyes and growled at him. "Perhaps I could tell Nunnally about it. I'm sure she'd love to hear stories about you from you 'fiancee.'"

Zero cursed under his mask, that was a damn low shot. Not that his hadn't been almost as bad but still. "Fine, truce?"

Muttering under her breath for a bit, Kallen finally looked up. "Yeah, truce I suppose."

* * *

After rousing Milly to a half conscious state and hauling her upstairs to a guest room, Lelouch changed into his casual clothes and was surprised to find Kallen waiting for him outside his room. "Did you need something?" he asked.

Kallen shook her head. "Not really, I figured I'd come with you and say hi to Nunnally before heading downstairs."

"Why?" Lelouch asked suspiciously.

"Cause I like her," Kallen replied innocently. "Of course she might draw the wrong conclusions from me being there and you'll have to deal with that but I really do like her, she's sweet."

Grumbling under his breath, Lelouch headed towards his sister's rooms. Opening up the door, he announced himself. "I'm home," he called.

To his surprise the green-haired girl from Shinjuku answered him. "Welcome back Lelouch."

Stopping in the doorway to stare before Kallen elbowed him for blocking her way, Lelouch wasn't sure what to do. The girl was wearing a prisoners uniform and sitting at the table making paper cranes with Nunnally, Sayoko standing in the corner watching her like a hawk.

"Welcome home Onii-sama," Nunnally called out cheerfully, her blindness keeping her from noticing the puzzled expression on Lelouch's face.

Not looking up from the blue crane she was folding, the green-haired girl spoke up again. "From your appearance I assume you ate out tonight? Pity, we saved some for you."

"I was really worried Oni-sama, "Nunnally said before Lelouch could respond. "I thought you might have gotten caught up in the uproar caused by that Zero man. I tried to call you but you didn't answer." Her head tilted slightly as Kallen couldn't stop a short laugh at that. "Oh, you have someone with you? Kallen, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Kallen confirmed. "I just wanted to stop by and say goodnight before I went home."

"Oh, you were with Onii-sama today? Onii-sama, it was very bad of you to go out with Kallen when C.C.-san can to see you today."

"C.C.?" Lelouch questioned.

Nunnally giggled. "You have a very strange friend Onii-sama. Can you imagine just going by your initials?"

"Yes, that's certainly strange," Lelouch replied calmly, shifting his eyes to Sayoko who gave him a bewildered expression. Resolving to ask about that later, he turned his attention back to Nunnally.

"She isn't your girlfriend is she, I thought you already had Kallen?" Nunnally said drawing a groan from Lelouch and a snicker from Kallen.

The green-haired girl, C.C. apparently, turned to Nunnally. "No, our relationship involves a promise he made for the future right Lelouch?"

Eye twitching in irritation, Lelouch clenched his teeth when Nunnally immediately leaped tot eh wrong conclusion. "Oh, like marriage? But what about Kallen. Oni-sama, it isn't nice to string poor Kallen along like that!"

"No, No it is not like that!" Lelouch finally exploded. "It's a different promise, she's just kidding."

Nunnally frowned. "Oh, you're doing this earlier then most Oni-sama but you'll have to choose just one of them eventually. They both seem really nice though."

Having reached his limit, Lelouch strode forward and grabbed C.C's arm. "Nunnally, Kallen wanted to visit with you before she went home. I'll see to getting our guest settled for the night." Hauling the girl out of the room, he popped his head back in the door. "Just remember, she was just kidding, it was just a joke!"

Waiting until he was gone, Kallen exploded in laughter and took a seat next to Nunnally. Trying to get her breath under control, she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Aren't you upset," Nunnally asked gently. "I thought he'd chosen you but now there is another girl. I think that would upset me."

Still composing herself, Kallen managed a reply. "No, that was really funny," she assured Nunnally. "Your brother and I are just friends from school, I don't like him like that."

"Oh, you don't have to pretend for me," Nunnally replied reaching out and grabbing Kallen's hand. "I can tell you really like him. You wouldn't have spent the day with him otherwise."

Still trying to deny it, Kallen couldn't help but think. _Well, Lelouch wasn't kidding when he said she was stubborn._

Reaching his bedroom, Lelouch shoved C.C. away from him. "Who are you," he demanded.

She fixed her odd golden eyes on him with a smirk. "You heard, it's C.C."

"No, not that, you were dead in Shinjuku. You took a bullet for me, but when I checked you, you were alive so again I ask, who are you?"

She gave him a coy look. "So, do you like the power I gave you," she asked avoiding the question.

Lelouch watched her contemplatively. "As I thought, it was you. I was surprised when you just disappeared."

Flopping down on the bed, C.C. spread her arms out. "Are you dissatisfied with it?"

Lelouch smirked. No, I'm grateful. It allowed me to speed up my plans drasticly."

"Hmm, plans for what?" She inquired.

Lelouch's smirk became a wolfish smile. "My plan to destroy Brittania. I believed I would have to wait several more years before I would be able to start."

CC looked at him oddly. "You think you can destroy an empire with just that power?"

Lelouch laughed. "I had intended to do it without this power. Now, it's my trump card."

CC chuckled to herself. "As I expected, you're fascinating."

"Hmm, not as fascinating as you perhaps," Lelouch replied eying her. "You seem very unsurprised by things, are there others with this power?"

CC frowned as she considered her response. It wouldn't do to give him to much information but allowing him to run completely blind would lessen the chances of him being able to take her code. "There is no one with the same geass as you," she finally responded. "The power granted is what the person wished for the most at the time it was given."

"I see," Lelouch said nodding. "My geass makes more sense now. At the time you gave it to me, what I wished for was power and now I have it. Are the other geass users a threat to me?"

"Some are," C.C. replied. "One more than the others though. Your father has one that allows him to rewrite peoples memories."

"What!" Lelouch exploded. "Did you give him that power!?"

"No, I am not the only one that can grant geass. The one responsible for the death of your mother, V.V. Is the one that gave Charles his geass."

Reeling from the unexpected information, Lelouch desperately tried to organize his thoughts. "Can something be done to block my father's geass," he finally asked. "It would be very difficult to lead a rebellion if he can simply rewrite the memories of my soldiers to be his."

CC shrugged. "His power works in a manner similar to yours, it requires direct eye contact."

Lelouch's plans for providing uniforms for his army now had an addition, mirrored sunglasses. It would be difficult if he was required to use his geass on them but since he hadn't intended to anyway, it beat having his father simply steal his men. "Thank you C.C. Your information, while troubling is very helpful. Have you given consideration to what you'll do now, the military is probably still hunting you."

CC shrugged again. "Only a small portion, so hiding normally should be enough." Stripping off her clothes, she pulled the blanket on the bed up to her chin. "I'll just have to make due here."

Lelouch sighed and palmed his face. "You intend to stay in my bed?"

CC gave him a demure look from under the blanket. "A real man would sleep on the floor."

"That isn't what I meant," Lelouch grumbled.

"Me being caught would be trouble for you as well," C.C. reasoned. "If I camp out, I'll get arrested."

Lelouch sighed. "As inconvenient as that might be, what about me?"

CC rolled over showing Lelouch her blanketed back. "Stop being so stubborn, we're accomplices."

Lelouch groaned and picked up her clothes from the floor. "Somehow I can already tell you're going to be a pain in my ass aren't you," he said dryly. "So, the contract you mentioned, what exactly is it?"

"Good night Lelouch," C.C. said. "I'm tired and the contract will become known to you in time."

Massaging his temples to ease the headache the woman was causing him, Lelouch stood up and exited the room, killing the lights on his way out.

Outside, Lelouch found Sayoko waiting for him in a deep bow. "Lelouch-sama, I apologize. I was unable to stop her."

Lelouch quirked an eye-brow. "What happened?"

Sayoko stood and gave him a look of disbelief. "After that woman showed up, I tried to keep her from Mistress Nunnally. When she refused to leave, I stabbed her Lelouch-sama. She was dead and when I went to remove her body, she simply stood up and handed me my kunai back and complimented me on 'a painless death.' By the time I managed to recover from my shock, she'd found Mistress Nunnally and introduced herself. I was unwilling to attack her again under the circumstances so I watched her for any attack against Mistress Nunnally. That was how things were when you arrived home."

Lelouch took a moment to digest the story and nodded. "You did what you could under unusual circumstances. I've seen her take a bullet to the forehead, die and then revive so I know that your story is true. For the time being, she'll be staying with us and apparently she's claimed my bed."

Sayoko blinked, she hadn't expected him to believe her, though the truth, it was very bizarre. Then the rest of his statement hit her. "Lelouch-sama, I must protest. Taking such a dangerous person to your bed is foolhardy. If you must satisfy your bodily urges, then as your sworn vassal, use me."

Lelouch stared at her for a moment then moved tot eh wall and began banging his head against it in frustration. "You misunderstand," he said having regained his calm. "I'm not taking her to bed, she stole my bed."

Sayoko pulled up the sleeves of her dress with a fire in her eye. "I see," she said flatly. "The I shall go in and remove her."

Before she could, Lelouch grabbed her arm. "Leave it be," he ordered. "She's just trying to be a pain in the ass as far as I can tell. Anything we do is likely to cause her to become even more annoying."

Sayoko bowed and restored her uniform to its proper state. "As you wish Lelouch-sama," she replied, the words remarkably sounding like,'you're making a mistake.'

Rolling his eyes in response, Lelouch wondered exactly what he'd done to be surrounded by so many stubborn women. Speaking of. "Sayoko, has Kallen left yet?"

"No, she was still with Mistress Nunnally when I came to speak to you."

"Hmm," Lelouch said as he thought. "Please show her to the study while I get Nunnally tucked into bed. I have several things I need to speak to the two of you about."

It didn't take him long to get Nunnally put to bed though she did managed to irritate him by insisting that he chose one girl and stick with her. Realizing that he was never going to change her mind, he chose to simply agree with her that he would choose one.

* * *

Still a bit irked, he headed to the study where Kallen and Sayoko were apparently gossiping about him. Grumpily ignoring it, he sat down behind the desk and cleared his throat to get their attention. "I had a secret that I was unwilling to share, even with you or Nunnally Sayoko, but new information has come to light calling my choice into question. Ask Sayoko can attest, C.C. as she likes to be called seems to be immortal. I've seen her die, Sayoko **killed **her and yet she still lives. Apparently she can form contracts with people and give them a power called geass."

Kallen snorted in derision. "Please, you expect me to believe that?"

Lelouch nodded. "Yes, I do because it's the truth. I have the ability to make someone do anything. The first time I used it, I had a squad of Royal Guardsmen kill themselves. The next time I used it, I accidentally enslaved a Brittanian knightmare pilot. After that, I've been very careful about using it."

Sayoko merely took him at his word but Kallen studied his face intently. "You're not joking are you," she finally said.

"No, and as I originally said, I wasn't going to tell anyone until C.C. supplied some information that affects everything. According to her, the Emperor has the ability to rewrite people's memories. The only limitation on it is that it requires direct eye contact. My geass has a similar limitation, glass with a very heavy tint or a mirrored surface will block it's effects."

Kallen's temper flared. "So that's how you got us to trust you! I should have known a Brittanian Prince couldn't be trusted!"

Lelouch gave her an unamused glare. "No, I did not and the reason you know I'm telling you the truth is because you're questioning me now."

Kallen dropped back into her chair at that, it made more sense then she wanted to admit. Thinking about what he said, she remembered that even during the operation some people had questioned the orders they'd received. They'd been carried out, if only reluctantly by some members. "Why not? She finally asked. "Something like that would be a very valuable tool for your dream of revenge, why not just enslave us like you did the woman you said you did?"

"Because it scared me," Lelouch admitted. "I didn't understand the limits and limitations of my geass when I got Viletta with it. I ordered her to 'obey', I didn't realize what it would mean."

"What happened?" Sayoko asked.

Lelouch frowned in remembrance. "She was like a life-sized doll. When I didn't give her any further orders, she just stood there and stared at the wall blankly. It hit me that I'd taken all meaning from her life other than that order to obey. Since the damage was already done, I decided to use her as a spy in the Brittanian military but I've been very careful to add stop conditions the times I've used my geass afterwards."

"That makes a lot of sense," Kallen said grudgingly. "I'm assuming that Viletta was that woman from the convoy you had me disable only. I had wondered why you were concerned but I think I've got you figured out at least a little. You've taken responsibility for her life haven't you?"

Lelouch tilted his head onto his hand atop the desk and massaged his temple wearily. "I'm very disturbed at how easy I seem to be for you to read Kallen. Yes, enemy though she was, I do feel responsible for what happens to her now."

"It's not a bad thing to be human," she commented with a smirk. "If it helps, I doubt many can actually read you, I just have the advantage of having seen you interact with your sister when you thought no one was watching. I bet Sayoko here probably can read you just as well but she actually cares what you think."

Lelouch's mouth twitched into a half-grin. "So you don't care what I think?"

"Not as such, no," Kallen confirmed. "All I care about is your ability to liberate Japan. Strictly business."

"You are such a liar," Lelouch laughed, then laughed even hard at the look she gave him. "If you didn't care what I think, you wouldn't try so hard to figure out how I think."

Flushing at the direct hit, Kallen deflected the subject. "So, why tell us about this?"

Lelouch's laughter died as if hit by an ax. "Because I can trust the two of you," he said gravely. "Both of you are already familiar with other secrets I have and you have kept my confidence well. C.C. says that there are other geass users out there as well, though she didn't go into specifics for them. With elements of the Empire aware of geass, there is the possibility of my secret becoming known. If it does, I want to be able to say completely honestly that members of our army were aware of that fact."

"That's a fantastic dodge you're trying to set up," Kallen said dryly. "The question is, what are you planning to do to prevent such powers being used against us?"

"That is actually fairly simple," Lelouch responded brightening up a bit. "I already had uniforms on order, I plan on simply added a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses to the uniform. Protects from geass and makes the troops feel cooler I suppose."

A laugh from the doorway caused Lelouch to pull a pistol from the desk, Kallen to pulling a knife from somewhere and Sayoko to draw kunai from up her sleeves. All three looked a bit embarrassed as Milly came sauntering into the room with her usual mischievous look on her face. "I wake up in the guest room, head for the bathroom and hear such an interesting conversation," she said airily before plopping into Lelouch's lap much to his annoyance. "You really should make sure these sorts of conversations have no eavesdroppers you know."

"Two questions," Lelouch said. "First, how much did you hear, and second, why are you on my lap?"

"Well, in order. Pretty much all of it," she said with a smirk. "As for the second, I wanted to and I didn't hear any complaints."

"That's cause you wouldn't listen even if I did complain," Lelouch groused. "Seriously tough, why not just take the open chair?"

Milly got up and moved to the other chair with a whimsical smile. "These two aren't the only ones that can read you like a book Lelouch." Becoming more serious, she met his eyes firmly. "No matter how much you fight it, some part of you is always back in Pendragon Lelouch. Kallen said it very well when she told you it was ok to be human sometimes. If you can't enjoy even something like having a pretty girl sit in your lap, you aren't really living, you're just existing."

"I'd like to think that I get along just fine," Lelouch said his tone very wry. "Besides, I never said I didn't enjoy you sitting there, I just asked why? You forget I've known you for years Milly, you plan things like this out."

Milly laughed at Lelouch's comment. "Sometimes, I just do it cause I want to," she said blowing him a kiss.

Disgruntled and feeling as if the world was laughing at him for some reason, Lelouch stood up and prepared to leave the room. "If that's all, I'm going to bed, I've pretty much had it with today. Kallen, tomorrow run as many people through the knightmare sims as possible. Take the best and then run them through the advanced course. Tell everyone else to be either training or very quietly recruiting. Milly, tomorrow begin getting in touch with your contacts, see if you can find out who the next Viceroy with be and when they arrive. Sayoko, just normal duties tomorrow."

Getting affirmations from the three women, Lelouch headed to his bedroom. Once inside he realized that since he sure as hell didn't want to try his luck sleeping the the same bed as Milly, he was stuck with his floor, both guest rooms in use. Pulling blankets from the closet, he tried to get as comfortable as possible before the day caught up with him and he fell asleep.

Following his departure, Kallen turn to Milly skeptically. "I'm not sure I really buy it, do you actually like him like that?"

Milly considered the question carefully. "Maybe, or at least a little like that. Sometimes he seems like a brother, other times he's just really cool. There is a reason that all those girls on campus want him you know." She gave it some more thought. "I suppose I just want him to be happy and he is safe to flirt with. Even if I go overboard, I know he won't take advantage of it, he can be very comforting sometimes. I suppose that answer is really disjointed but I am tired you know."

Kallen snickered evilly. "You know, I could always tell Shirley that I saw you sit in Lelouch's lap and watch the fireworks."

Milly smiled back affably. "I doubt she would listen to Lelouch's pregnant fiancee about such a thing."

Kallen winced, Milly won that exchange hands down. "You know, I don't really know him all that well, but I can't help but wonder who he actually likes, if he even does like someone," she said after a moment.

Milly frowned and Sayoko added her opinion. "I don't believe Lelouch-sama has anyone in mind romanticly at this time. However, if he were to choose someone, I think it would be one of you."

Milly and Kallen both goggled at her. "What?" they said in near unison.

Sayoko gave them a serene smile. "Simple, he trusts both of you, he actually talks to the two of you and both of you know what drives him. Both of you show signs of mild infatuation with him, Mistress Milly very overtly, Kallen much more quietly. I suspect that eventually the two of you may come to odds over him."

Milly and Kallen looked at each other and began to laugh. Sayoko merely contented herself with her grin. Either girl would make a fine Queen for her master and now the idea was planted. Only time would tell if the seeds would grow.

* * *

Morning was fairly routine with the exception of C.C., Kallen and Milly all joining the breakfast table. After breakfast, the girls all went their separate ways with the exception of C.C. who followed Lelouch back to his room. It was somewhat unnerving for Lelouch when she changed out of her prisoner's uniform and decided to just wear one of his shirts while watching him work on the computer. Shortly before noon she disappeared and came back with a box of delivery pizza.

Turning from computer with a puzzled look, he couldn't resist asking. "C.C. where did that come from?"

In response she pulled out a familiar credit card from underneath the shirt somewhere. Waving it at him, she put it back wherever it came from much to Lelouch's annoyance.

"You do realize I will want that back right?" he asked testily.

CC shrugged unconcerned. "You can try to get it but I doubt you'll search me for it. Besides, you have others, I saw them."

Grumbling under his breath he shut down the computer and grabbed the roll of gym clothes setting behind him. Already annoyed and headed to one of his least favorite activities. Sometimes being a revolutionary just sucked.

* * *

The next few days passed in a similar manner with the notable exception of Suzaku showing up to school causing a bit of panic on both his and Kallen's part when he walked into the classroom. A short conversation on the roof with Suzaku while Kallen listened in confirmed several things for Lelouch. If Euphemia was already here, then Cornelia was the new Viceroy and that was a mixed blessing. She was very skilled on the battlefield but as a commander was fond of basic massed tactics given Brittania's usual technological superiority. She was capable of tactical brilliance though so underestimating her would be fatal.

Telling the command group this had been fairly painless. Cornelia's focus on military affairs also left large civilian gaps that had his newly christened Black Knights exploit. Every raid on criminal groups around the Tokyo area gained recognition for the group as well as needed funds and recruits. A quick meeting with Viletta had garnered him both Sutherland and Gloucester production data and after some consideration had chosen to produce the slightly superior Gloucester. Though they cost more per frame, the added performance was worth it in Lelouch's mind.

Things were moving very well for the Black Knights when Lelouch received interesting information from Viletta causing him to call a conference with the command staff. Looking over his commanders in their new black with silver trim uniforms, he couldn't help but smile with pride behind his mask. The uniforms and training had begun to create a disciplined army, the core for what he needed to liberate Japan and strike at the Empire.

Once everyone was seated, Zero pulled up a holographic map of the Saitama Ghetto. "I have received information that in two days, Cornelia intends to set up a trap for me her in Saitama. Apparently, she isn't aware of how strong we are now and will try to recreate the conditions of Shinjuku to bait me in. What's very interesting about this is that she is also sending in a train with 20 or so empty Sutherlands on it."

The assembled group collectively whistled, that was extremely tempting bait but surely Zero wasn't going to take it. Oghi raised his hand and waited for Zero to nod at him. "Zero, you aren't planning to actually walk into the trap are you?"

Zero nodded in response. "20 plus Sutherlands is a very good reason to go, but we also have to clear the civilians out without the Brittanians noticing over the next two days. The local resistance group, the Yamato Alliance is little better than a common street gang so we won't be getting help there sadly. If Cornelia intends to recreate Shinjuku, then she's going to be sending in units until she thinks she has forced our hand. Simply put, we turn her trap against her, bleed her troops and then ghost out without letting the main trap land on us." Zooming in the map, he began relaying orders to his commanders. "Now, this is how we're going to do this."

* * *

_"Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die, and not be able to"_

_Sophocles_

An

Wow, that took some doing. Lots of dialogue, too much dialogue. Still hope it was informative and at least interesting.

* * *

Omake

Reading the invoice he'd received, Lelouch picked up the phone and called the listed number.

"Black Lagoon, this is Rock," a man answered the phone.

"Yes, I have an invoice here, number 15678589 is it ready for pick-up"

"One moment," Lelouch heard some papers shuffling in the background. "Ah, here it is. Yep, ready for pick-up whenever."

"Good," Lelouch said. "I'll send my maid down to pick it up shortly."

"Wait," the man named Rock called out before he could hang up. "Did you just say maid?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"One second... Hey Revy, get me the Maid checklist, this guys says he is gonna send his maid down to pick up the order."

"WHAT!" A woman yelled in the background. "I don't wanna deal with another maid as long as I live."

"Revy, calm down, that's what the checklist is for. Ok, still there sir, just need you to answer a few questions."

Lelouch looked at the phone questioningly then shrugged. "Alright."

"First, does your maid habitually carry automatic weapons or grenade launchers?"

"No," _What the hell?_

"That's good, now, is your maid completely devoted to your family to the point of madness?"

"No, Sayoko is loyal but she isn't crazy."

"Hmm, that's good too. If angered, does your maid become something resembling a robotic killing machine that never stops hunting it's target?"

"No, I've never seen Sayoko angry. What the hell did you guys run into anyway?"

"Long story but there was two of them, the first one was the worst though. Final question. Is there anything about your maid that makes her extremely dangerous to others around her?"

"Um, she's a kunoichi, she really likes bladed weapons but I've never actually seen her use them on anyone."

"Hmm, I see. Regretfully, we do not feel comfortable dealing with your maid at this time, please send someone else to pick up your delivery."

"Well, the only other person free is a sort of crazy, frequently angry knightmare pilot with some really interesting fighting skills."

"Is she a maid?"

"No"

"Then she's fine."

End


	6. Becoming the Mask

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

Dragon is working her way through the chapters I dumped on her so for now, the unbeta'd version.

* * *

"_Facing the Brittanian military, one must remember the lessons of the Spanish Bullfighters. Much like the bull, it is strong, fast and fully capable of crushing anything that ends up under its hoofs. It has many of the same weaknesses as well. It is very easy to distract and once distracted, rarely sees the sword coming for it."_

_Zero_

* * *

_He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious._

_Sun Tzu_

* * *

Lelouch sat at the desk in his room twirling a black chess king in his hand as he alternated between reviewing Black Knight recruitment data and glaring at C.C.. Once he'd recovered from the shock of learning his father had a geass combined with the casual reveal of his mother's murderer, he'd questioned C.C. about it repeatedly only to be continuously denied. It was intensely aggravating, but busy as he was, he couldn't devote all of his time into trying to pry her mouth open.

Sensing his gaze, C.C. looked up from her pizza and calmly met Lelouch's eyes until he shifted his gaze back to his computer. The immortal was a mystery, her actions made little sense to Lelouch and looking her in the eyes made him extremely uneasy. Still, if she wanted to be a pain in his ass, he could return the favor.

Pulling a folder from his desk drawer he tossed it over to C.C., smirking when it landed on her precious pizza. "I've come up with a solution to the problem of you living here," he said mildly, hiding his amusement. "Congratulations Miss Cecile Chaffee on your admittance to Ashford Academy as a sophomore student." The death glare C.C. leveled at him caused him to mentally cackle in glee though he managed to keep it from showing on his face.

Distastefully picking up the folder and skimming through it, C.C. was not amused. "You expect me to go to school? I have no need or wish to do this."

Lelouch allowed some of his amusement to show. "It's true that you might in fact be an old hag," he agreed amiably. "Still, you don't look like one and this solves any questions about why you're here on campus. You were the one who said you wanted to hide in plain sight." Gesturing at the folder, his smile had more than a bit of teeth showing. "I'm simply helping you to do so."

CC locked her eyes on Lelouch's until the boy shifted away uncomfortably. Putting the folder down, she picked up another piece of pizza and began methodically eating it without taking her eyes from him. She was well aware that he didn't like her watching him, so this petty revenge would have to do until she had time for something more elaborate.

Ignoring the glare as best he could, Lelouch turned back to his computer with a scowl. As well as things had gone with the Black Knights, problems had popped up. Several recruits had turned out to be unable to keep their mouths shut resulting in Lelouch dismissing them after using his geass to blank their memories of the Black Knights. He'd been expecting something like that but it was his own stupidity that was costing him the most.

After receiving the information about Cornelia's ambush from Viletta, he'd attempted to speed up the manufacturing of the latest batch of Gloucester frames. Instead of gaining him a day on the usual week-long construction schedule, the automated equipment had frozen up and broken down requiring almost two days to fix. In an ordinary situation, losing a day and a half of production wouldn't mean much but in this case, he was down five frames he'd intended to use for the days operation.

He clenched his fingers around the black chess king and scowled at it. He was very aware he was prone to arrogance but he typically managed to keep it in check. Sadly, it usually only surfaced at times extremely inconvenient for him and he wondered if perhaps there was something to the idea of Karma.

Relaxing his grip, he spun the chess piece though his fingers faster as he ran the plan for the day through his head. Despite the loss of the five Gloucesters, he'd refused to make good the shortage with Sutherlands. Since the goal was to steal the bait Sutherlands not full-out brawl with Cornelia, he didn't really need them, they'd just been his safety net.

A brief message from his earpiece radio informed him it was time to get moving and he stood up and grabbed his mask. Turning to leave, he paused when he found C.C. standing in his way.

"It seems foolish to deliberately enter a trap," she said, her odd golden eyes scanning his face. "I would be most upset were you to die."

Lelouch couldn't help a smug grin. "After my sister went to the trouble of such an elaborate invitation, how could I refuse." His smile became malicious. "Besides, it's not as if I'm not bringing friends along to play."

The green-haired immortal shook her head at his antics. "Your arrogance is causing you to make a mistake," she remarked coldly. "You stand to lose more than you gain with this fools errand. You don't need the knightmares, so why spring Cornelia's trap?"

Lelouch scowled and held up the chess piece in his hand. "If the king does not lead, how can he expect anyone to follow?" He asked the immortal. "In time, I will be able to simply order an operation like this and focus on other things but for now, I must prove that I am willing to take to the battlefield myself. Despite improvements in their skills, not a single one of my commanders can handle something like this now."

CC eyed the chess piece critically. "So, you see yourself as a king now Lelouch?"

"For the purposes of this, yes I do," he responded stiffly. "If you mean do I intend to take the throne, then no, I do not."

A ghost of a smile crossed C.C.'s face at the response. "Simply fascinating. Are we all chess pieces in your mind Lelouch? Are you willing to use all your pieces if you need to for the win?"

Lelouch ignored the knowing look C.C. gave him as she moved to the side to let him leave. At the moment, he simply didn't have the time to deal with whatever her little game was. The issue of his mother's killer wasn't something he was willing to let go of either. Sooner or later they were going to have a confrontation but not until he'd stacked the deck in his favor.

Exiting his room, he ran into Milly standing across the hall from his door waiting for him. Before he could ask what she was doing, the girl wrapped him up in a tight hug.

"Lelouch, be careful out there ok?" Milly whispered, unwilling to let her friend go.

Gently prying her arms from around him, Lelouch cupped her chin in his hand. "Don't worry Milly," he said with a gentle smile. "You've know the plan, I'm just there to command not fight directly."

Milly snorted at that. Lelouch had been the one to tell her that battlefields and plans mixed like oil and water. Leaning in close again, she kissed his cheek. "For luck," she told him.

With a smug grin, he pulled the mask of Zero on. "We make our own luck," Zero told her confidently before turning and striding off.

Closing her eyes, Milly said a brief prayer for her friends and comrades headed into harms way then headed off to find Nunnally and Sayoko. Hopefully dragging Nunnally into something silly with the rest of the student council would help her pass the time without worrying. She giggled at the idea that popped into her head for a new festival. Suzaku had brought that cat Arthur, perhaps a cat festival. If she was lucky, she might get to stuff Lelouch and Kallen into cat costumes. Worries set aside for the moment, Milly skipped down the hall with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

* * *

Exiting the elevator, Zero paused a moment to pay his respects at the memorial wall. While only a few Black Knights had fallen so far, many members had placed pictures of their lost loved ones as he'd offered. He wasn't particularly religious but he figured that asking the fallen to watch over him and his men wouldn't harm him and it made him a more human figure for the Black Knights.

Nodding his greetings to the soldiers not being sent on the operation, Zero made his way to the customized command Sutherland set aside for his use. There hadn't been much they could do, but it did mount slightly more powerful sensors and communication gear than the standard Sutherland. In the future he hoped for something better but for now, it would do. Powering the machine up and exiting the base, Zero grinned under his mask. _Well sister, let's see what sort of party you throw._

* * *

Under Oghi's command, the BK units in Saitama stopped the train carrying the bait Sutherlands exactly according to plan. Unloading the knightmares and arming them took only a few minutes but unlike Shinjuku, this train had only carried 20 knightmares so Oghi ordered the handful of left over pilots to retreat and get clear.

Following his own orders from Zero, Oghi split his forces into seven 4-man 'lances' leaving Kallen and himself in reserve. Giving the others orders to move to their jump-off positions, Oghi switched his knightmare's radio to a prearranged frequency leaving his earpiece on the BK tactical channel.

"So, Q-1, any idea why Zero is so insistent on calling the squads 'lances'?"

Kallen snorted and keyed her mic to respond. "Hell if I know. I asked him about it and he just said something about, 'be glad it's not five man stars.' I swear if it's from some game he likes, I'm gonna cause him a great deal of pain. Maybe up his weights or something, he'd hate that."

Oghi chuckled at the image of Kallen pounding on the stick-like Lelouch but under the chuckles he wondered exactly how close Kallen and Lelouch had become. Over the past several weeks she'd seemed to just accept that he was a Brittanian Prince and he couldn't shake his doubts so easily. Still, the boy had been true to his word so far, even if they'd mostly been hitting criminals. The logic of taking down the scum preying on the Japanese population and using their resources against Brittania was solid at least. Recruitment was high, discipline was good and today they were going to hurt the new viceroy. When viewed like that, his fears seemed misplaced but despite everything he still worried.

Kallen sat staring at her tactical screen when the Brittanian advance into the ghetto began. Despite the best efforts of the ground teams, she knew that they hadn't gotten everyone out. Some had even resisted with force causing several casualties on both sides. So it was with mixed feelings as those same civilians attacked the advancing Brittanians. Despite their actions, she longed to move forward and teach the Brittanian murderers a lesson, only Zero's orders held her back.

She sighed as she reviewed the plan for the day. Initially the individual lance commanders were to operate independently within their areas of the ghetto once Zero gave the command to engage. That was the part Kallen had some issues with. It was true the selected commanders had done well in the simulations and raids but against the Brittanian military, Kallen really wished Zero was giving the orders.

"Black Knights, Zero. I have arrived and am in position. Report status."

Kallen breathed a sigh of relief as the lance commanders reported in. Even if He wasn't suppose to take direct command until the latter stages of the plan, having him present and available to step in was a relief to the girl. As much as she respected and trusted her fellow Black Knights, no one had tactical skills even close to Zero's. Sending in her own readiness, she wondered when she'd become a Zero fan-girl. It was troubling to her how much she'd come to admire Zero, even when he was pretending to be Lelouch. And that was the crux of it, she mused. Having spent time with Zero in both of his persona, she was firmly convinced that Zero was Lelouch's true personality. _I don't know, maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part_, she thought checking her knightmare's status while Zero began a small speech over the radio.

* * *

Having stationed himself on the upper floor of a ruined building overlooking Kallen and Oghi's position, Lelouch gazed at his tactical map while his troops reported in. Unlike Shinjuku, he wasn't tied into the Brittanian tactical net but he'd had the evac teams placing passive sensors though out the ghetto over the past two days. Combined with his own upgraded sensors, he had a better take on the battlefield than anyone else, even Cornelia. Noting that he had maybe five minutes until the Brittanian forces would reach his units, he decided a speech was in order. With a strong mental reminder to keep it brief, he keyed his mic.

"Attention all Black Knights. Brittanian forces are inbound but we are prepared and ready for them. Stay calm and remember your training. Stick with your lance-mates and remember to never fight fair. Victory is in our grasp, we simply need to claim it. Nippon Banzai!" Listening to the cheers over the main net, he adjusted his knightmare's radio to Kallen and Oghi's frequency. "P-1, you have tactical command as planned. Just relax and do your best, I'll be on standby here if I'm needed."

* * *

Oghi blew out a breath and worked his neck to relieve some tension. Enlarging his tactical map, updated with the feed from Zero's machine, he did his best to remain clam as he began issuing orders to the lance commanders. According to the tactical doctrine Zero was drilling into the Black Knights, the lance commanders were responsible for the actions of their lances within their assigned area. His job was to keep an eye on the bigger picture and supply them with information. As the initial Brittanian units dropped without much fuss, Oghi smiled. It seemed there might be something to this independent command stuff.

Eyes glued to his tactical map, Lelouch had to constantly stop himself from stepping in and assuming direct command over the battle. While Oghi and the lance commanders weren't doing a bad job, in fact they were doing better than he expected, they were missing chances he would have taken. The only thing that kept him from doing so was that it was not in his best interest to micromanage them. In the long run, he would not be able to be at every battle or fight and his troops need both trained and blooded leaders and confidence in those same leaders. He needed soldiers, not mindless drones, even if it cost him losses he could have prevented.

Groaning when Oghi missed a chance to take out a squad of Sutherlands without the ensuing firefight, Lelouch massaged the bridge of his nose wearily. While an excellent lance leader, he was out of his depth at company command. Lelouch shuddered at the thought of Oghi taking tactical command of something larger than a company. Even with every new recruit being tested for tactical skill and with the ongoing command training, Oghi was still the best commander he had and it frustrated Lelouch immensely. _I wonder if the JLF would mind if I kidnapped Todoh?_ _I could certainly use his talents more than they do._

* * *

Sitting on her throne, head propped up on her hand, Cornelia watched the tactical map with a bored expression. When the first units into the ghetto reported encountering few civilians, she'd been worried about an ambush. Sure enough, not long after, her scouts had been destroyed by black painted knightmares as well as the bait Sutherlands. It was of some concern that the rebels had Gloucester frames in their possession but their actions were confusing to her. The reports from Shinjuku and the take-down of Gottwald's unit indicated Zero relied on precision and timing for his attacks. Currently, the rebels were using a variety of attacks and styles as if someone was just letting them run free and make things up as they went along. Scowling as another infantry squad was blotted from the map, Cornelia wondered if Zero had even bothered to show up.

* * *

Having been sent by Oghi to reinforce one of the flanks, Kallen used her slash harkens to climb to the rooftops. Accelerating her machine towards the end of the roof, she launched herself across the gap caused by the street and used her slash harkens and momentum to spin her around the side of the building sheltering a Brittanian knightmare squad. Opening fire on the startled Brittanians while still midair, she destroyed two of their knightmares before retracting her slash harkens and landing behind them. Rotating to face the enemy units, she weaved her knightmare back and forth as she retreated laying suppressing fire as she moved. Reaching an intersection, she skidded around the corner just as the lance she was assisting bounced a chaos mine into the enemy position. A brief confirmation from the lance caused Kallen to smile and head back to her reserve position by Oghi. Sometimes being in reserve could be fun.

* * *

For the Brittanians, trying to make headway through the ghetto was a nightmare. Unaccustomed to urban warfare, they were having a hell of a time against the Black Knights. Send a unit forward to scout, ambush. Try for lateral movement, ambush. Attack with knightmares, ambush again. The worst part was that they wouldn't even stand and fight. Every ambush was brief, the Bk's would simply drop the lead or rear units then fade back into the ghetto. A few units attempted to stop and consolidate with nearby allies but that stopped after the first few times chaos mines landed in the middle of the gatherings. The anger and frustration levels in the front-line Brittanian units was high and morale was shot when a withdrawal order was issued.

* * *

Oghi sighed in relief when the Brittanian units began to retreat. Unclenching his hands from his knightmare's controls, he called for a status report from his units. Listening with half an ear, he reviewed his commands during the battle and was pleased with himself. He hadn't been perfect and he'd had to use Kallen a few times to cover flaws in his plans but he'd avoided making any critical mistakes or freezing up with indecision. Since Zero hadn't taken command from him, he felt that the boy was satisfied with him as well though he suspected Zero had probably gagged himself to avoid saying anything. _I don't think I did to badly for an old school teacher,_ he thought with some pride.

* * *

Ignoring the command staff's confusion, Cornelia turned to the thin glasses wearing man standing at attention next to her. "Ready to go, Guilford my knight," she asked warmly.

Guilford bowed, arm across his chest in salute. "It is my please to obey, my lady."

Cornelia smiled at her knight. "Then go and strike down my foes."

Guilford saluted again and left, leaving his Mistress to deal with the command staff.

Turning her attention to the assembled commanders, the warm expression vanished from her face to be replaced by an icy calm. "It is time we ended this farce," she declared. "It is uncertain if we lured Zero here but those are certainly his men out there. Regardless of his capture or death, the loss of men and material here will cripple him."

* * *

Watching the Brittanian retreat, Lelouch had the feeling that something was wrong. It was true that his forces had annihilated the initial assault units, by his estimation they'd lost perhaps two companies of mixed knightmare, armor and infantry. It was very unlike the sister he remembered to worry about casualties especially while sitting on at least a regiments worth of troops in reserve. The icons of six Gloucesters crossing through the lines and entering the ghetto gave him the answer though. _I see, _ he mused. _Use the regulars as scouts and then bring in your royal guard to destroy me. Well, it wouldn't be in my best interests to let you succeed sister._

Keying the BK frequency, he overrode the cheers of the troops. "Zero is assuming tactical command. N1 lance, R1 lance, withdraw to grid F-8 and assume over-watch positions in the buildings. N2 lance, R2 lance, head underground to grid F-7 and prepare to return to the surface facing grid F-8. B1 lance, hold position at grid C-6, B2 lance move to grid J-7 and hold. P-2 lance, regroup with P-1 and move to grid G-11 and guard our exit. Q-1, move to grid F-4." Waiting for his troops to confirm their orders, Lelouch keyed his mic again. "So far, you have done very well but now things get harder. It seems Cornelia has sent in her royal guard, Q-1 will be the bait, leading them into the trap at F-8. Once we defeat this attack, our job here is done and we will retreat." Looking up from his map, Lelouch noticed Kallen moving to her assigned position causing Lelouch to sigh. "Q-1, is there any reason your knightmare is red rather than black?" he asked over the open frequency to the muted laughter of the other Black Knights.

"Hey, I _like_ red," she retorted, spinning her knightmare around to wave at him before turning back towards her destination.

Lelouch was saved from trying to find an appropriate retort when his cellphone rang. Checking the caller id, he was nonplussed to find it was from the student council room. Thinking it might be Milly with something she'd seen on tv, he mentally shrugged and accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lelouch," Suzaku said. "We were discussing your relationships here and I need to ask do you like,"

"Noooooooooo!" There was a screech that sounded like Shirley followed by a muffled thud before the call abruptly ended.

Lelouch eyed his phone warily before putting it away. It wasn't hard too imagine what had happened but the timing was poor. Putting the whole teen romance mess out of his mind, he watched as Kallen intercepted the Royal Guard knightmares. Confident as he was in Kallen's skills, he was worried about sending her up against six veteran pilots. If the rest of his pilots were even close to her skill level, he wouldn't have even needed to ambush the Royal Guard but they didn't and so Kallen was sent out as the only one capable of surviving being bait.

* * *

Reaching her way-point, Kallen ducked her machine behind a nearby building and checked the tactical feed Zero was sending her. She had maybe a minute or two until the Gloucesters drew into engagement range. Closing her eyes and drawing a calming breath, she focused on the feel of her knightmare, the sounds from the equipment, the hum of the motor. Using these familiar things to drive her fear away, she slowly released the breath and opened her eyes.

Much more focused, her eyes darted around her controls as she quickly began planning how to survive six to one odds for four blocks. Sliding her knightmare over to get a visual of the approaching Royal Guard, she was struck by how arrogant they were. Even headed into a known combat zone, they were moving down the street as if on parade. To Kallen's delight, it didn't appear that any of them were carrying ranged weapons either. The only thing she was was those heavy lances designed for melee knightmare combat. Her odds of surviving this were looking better now.

Having decided how to deal with the Brittanians, Kallen armed her chaos mine but did a mental three-second count before whipping around the corner and launching it at the Royal Guard. She'd gotten the idea from an old war movie she'd seen where soldiers would 'cook' a grenade so that it couldn't be thrown back. In this case, the chaos mine had a small delay once activated that alert opponents would use to get clear.

For the Royal Guardsmen, the sheer insanity of having an already exploding chaos mine land in the middle of their formation delayed their reaction enough that several took hits before they could dodge. The damage was further compounded when the red Gloucester took advantage of the confusion to open fire on them before making it's escape.

Having gotten several hits in, Kallen began taking a round about route to the designated ambush coordinates. To her mind, fleeing in a straight line would only give the game away so she continued to keep the chasing knightmares under fire as she weaved in and out of the destroyed buildings.

Guilford had seen many things in his time-serving his Princess but the stubborn rearguard action of the red Gloucester was a very unpleasant surprise. His orders were to destroy Her Majesty's enemies and one knightmare was keeping him from fulfilling his duty. Certain the pilot was buying time for the other terrorists to escape, he drove the Royal Guard hard in pursuit.

Fleeing through the plaza at grid F-8, Kallen used her slash harkens to reach the rooftops, then spun her machine around to face the oncoming Brittanians. Her tactical map showed her comrades closing the trap and she couldn't help a wild smile from lighting up her face as the Royal Guard emerged into the plaza.

"Destroy them," Zero's orders blared from her radio.

All around the plaza and from behind them, 16 additional knightmares revealed themselves to the startled Royal Guard before concentrated fire ripped them apart.

Cornelia snarled in fury when her Royal Guard was ambushed and destroyed. Stiffly standing from her throne she stalked tot eh tactical map, her temper only barely appeased when she saw that Guilford and one other Guardsmen had managed to eject and get clear. Turning to General Dalton, she snapped out orders. "Tell the standby aircraft to strike. Tell them I wish this ghetto removed from my sight!"

Bowing to Cornelia, Dalton moved to the Air-force commander sitting nearby. "You heard her Highness," he said gruffly. "Initiate airstrikes immediately."

Satisfied with the days results, Lelouch issued orders for his units to withdraw when a new set of icons blinked into existence on his tactical map. Surprised, it took him a moment to realize what he was seeing before he keyed his mic hastily. "Airstrike! Get underground or under cover immediately!"

His warning was on time for most of his troops but B-2's lance was caught crossing an open area with no cover and the Merlin fighter/bombers landed a stick of 500 pound bombs almost in the middle of their lance.

Watching one of his lances disappear off the map drove Lelouch into a furious rage. After issuing orders for everyone to stay underground and get clear, he retreated himself, meeting up with Oghi's reinforced lance. Staying near the entrance to the underground until the rest of the Black Knights were at the rally point, he pulled out the detonator he'd kept nearby during the battle.

While some of the teams had evacuated the civilians, he'd had a few others planting explosives at logical choke points surrounding Saitama. The idea was that if problems happened in Saitama, Lelouch would detonate the explosives using the confusion to withdraw. Now, after losing some of his men, Lelouch was looking for revenge. With a grim smile, he held the remote up and viciously slammed his thumb down on the activator.

* * *

The command staff in Cornelia's G-1 were struggling to deal with the chaos of the airstrikes and demoralized troops when a series of shudders ran through the armored base. Seeing a great any units removed from the tactical map, some of them ran tot he windows and looked out with growing expressions of horror.

Still furious, Cornelia checked to see what was wrong only for the sight to further piss her off. Through a combination of luck and planning, one of the larger explosives had been set under the spot that she'd ordered the most mangled units to regroup on. From what the map said and what her eyes were telling her, she'd lost all of them.

* * *

Reaching the Ashford base, Zero climbed from his Sutherland and stalked across the hanger to his office, cloak fluttering behind him, his entire body radiating anger. Watching him, several of the members flinched when Zero slammed his door closed behind him hard enough to echo through the hanger. A faint shout of," That fucking BITCH!" could be heard even through the soundproofing.

* * *

Cornelia sat stone-faced as her officers reported the extent of the disaster to her. The only visible sign of her intense anger was the hand clamped in a death-grip on the arm of her chair. She'd thought Zero was just a terrorist, someone to easily manipulate and erase and it had cost her most of a regiment. She lost upwards of 50 knightmares, dozens of tanks and entire infantry companies on top of two-thirds of her Royal Guard. That last little 'fuck you,' from Zero had more than doubled her losses for the day. She'd underestimated him and she silently vowed to never do so again. From now on, she would assume he had the same sort of tactical mind her deceased brother Lelouch had shown before his exile.

* * *

Having taken his temper out on his desk, Lelouch was sitting slunk in his chair sulking over the loss of B-2 lance. He hadn't connected the dots before he'd pulled up the data, but the deceased lance leader had been Gorou, the escape driver from the rescue of Suzaku. He'd only exchanged a handful of words with the man, overseen some of his command training but it still put a human face on the war for Lelouch and he didn't like it.

The sound of the door opening caused him to glance at his mask but upset as he was, he decide to just ignore it. In a way, announcing his identity now would at least be interesting. 'Hey, the guy that screwed up and got your friends killed is a Brittianian Prince!' In a way, he was even more irritated by the fact that Cornelia had managed to out plan him in some respects then he was by the loss of his troops. He snorted at that. _At least I paid her back in kind._

After several minutes, he looked up from his self-pity to see Kallen carefully watching him from where she was leaning against the closed door.

"It wasn't your fault," she bluntly told him once she had his attention. She held up her hand to forestall his response. "I think I've got a handle on how you think now Lelouch. You're blaming yourself for both the loss of Gorou's lance and for not seeing it coming. You're beating yourself up over the fact that Cornelia had a response you hadn't planned on. That's pathetic and it sickens me."

Lelouch jerked his gaze to hers furiously but averted his eyes from the anger he saw in hers.

"We just kicked the hell out of the so-called, 'Goddess of Victory.' We lost four knightmare pilots in the battle itself and five of our infantry trying to evacuate the civilians. Do you realize how incredible that is!?" Seeing that Lelouch was paying attention to her now, Kallen softened her tone. "You told us yourself that sometimes we were going to lose our own people, but we already knew that. This fight was hopeless before you came to lead us. Yeah, we lost nine good people but to inflict the sort of damage we just did, before you, we would have lost hundreds, if not thousands."

Lelouch hung his head, ashamed of pitying himself. Kallen was right but at the same time she was wrong and he tried to tell her. "Kallen, I should have seen the airstrike coming. I never considered it but it's standard Brittanian military tactics to have air power standing by. Cornelia didn't pull some sort of exotic tactic out, she pulled it straight from the handbook,_ and I didn't see it coming!_"

Kallen continued to regard him calmly. "I asked around after we got back," she said slowly. "No one here ever remembers fighter/bombers being called in except during the war. The last time anyone remembers seeing them was during the invasion."

Lelouch sat back in his chair and rapidly drummed his fingers on the desk as he thought. Kallen's words had stirred some memories and he was trying to sort them out. Suddenly, it cleared up for him and he bite back a curse. Yes, it was standard policy to have air power standing by in a war situation but not a terrorist incident. Cornelia was most at home on the battlefield, he doubted she'd even bothered to consult the terrorist checklists. Now that he knew that, he actions made more sense and he could deal with her.

"Cornelia was using standard front-line policy today," he said tiredly. "I'd assumed she was going to use the standard playbook for dealing with terrorists and so I didn't consider the aircraft issue." Picking up his mask, he examined his face in the reflection for a moment. "Thank you for coming Kallen, you've helped me remember something important."

Kallen shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

Lelouch continued to examine the mask. "My duty," he said finally. "I believe it was best said by Colonel Lee before his execution by the rebels during the Western Uprising. He said 'Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should not do less.' My duty now is to lead, my duty now is to liberate Japan and my duty is to destroy the Brittanian Empire."

Kallen watched wide-eyed as she saw Zero manifest in Lelouch without the mask on. It seemed there was something to her theory that Zero was in fact his real personality. It was such a pity she had to deal with the other Lelouch at school, that one irritated the hell out of her.

Lelouch slid the mask over his face and smiled. He felt good, like he'd cleared something from his mind, something that would have held him back. Perhaps it was taking on the responsibility for destroying the Empire. Ever since the invasion he'd sworn that he would but today was the first time he'd declared it to be his duty.

Moving to the door, he motioned Kallen out of the way. Opening the door, Zero turned back to face her. "Come Kallen," he said warmly. "We have an AAR to conduct and a revolution to plan."

* * *

_Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less._

_Robert E. Lee_

**AN**

**Damn, thats a lot of horizontal lines. For those asking, yes, Lelouch was throwing himself a pity party cause he wasn't perfect. Read carefully, he is upset at the loss of his troops but mostly that Cornelia did something he didn't have a plan for. Keep in mind, he isn't a hardened combat commander at this point. No more whining from Lelouch now that he's snapped out of it. Ok, time to start alternating between this and Council's Folly again. I hope you guys have enjoyed this so far. Remember to please review, tell me what you like or dislike. I'm dying for feedback guys. O7**

Omake

Lelouch sat in the study of the student council building with Milly and Kallen trying to get through the nightmare of paperwork running the Black Knights dumped on him. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he blinked in surprise as he read the latest recruitment application.

"Hey, get this," he said drawing the girls attention as well as that of Sayoko. "Got an application from a guy that says he's a 5000 year old immortal."

Milly snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I saw that one, figured I'd send it to you since I suppose it is possible that he's telling the truth.

Lelouch nodded his understanding as he continued to read. "Well, I doubt it, He says something about being able to walk on water and being able to destroy knightmares with his bare hands."

Unnoticed by the others, Sayoko's hands began to shake as a cold feeling slid down her spine. The next thing Lelouch said confirmed her fears.

"Oh, get this, supposedly he has a massive fox demon sealed inside himself that he made friends with and gives him the power to destroy cities."

Sayoko gasped and dropped the tea set she was holding.

Lelouch, Kallen and Milly looked over to see Sayoko curled into the fetal position in the corner of the room. "Sayoko, whats wrong?"

Sayoko peeked out from underneath her arms in terror. "Lelouch-sama, do not hire that man," she pleaded. "He would wander into our village every year and we could never stop him. Our attempts to kill him amused him. So we tried just ignoring him, but if we did, he would go peeping on the woman's baths. Then he would write these horrible books about it, saying we inspired him. One day, I had enough and since he always called himself 'the Toad Sage' I began calling him Ero-Sennin and he just laughed! I tried to kill him and he just complimented me on my knife work."

Lelouch cleared his throat and traded gazes with the girls. "Sayoko, if he is that strong, don't you think he would be useful against the Brittanians?"

"NO! He only does things out of boredom. He'd cause chaos just to amuse himself. I beg you Lelouch-sama, reject the application."

Moving back to the computer, Lelouch deleted the application. "Ok, Sayoko, I deleted the application, it'll be ok. You won't have to deal with Uzumaki Naruto at all, ok?"


End file.
